Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Sumac in winter
There are several sumac trees in my neighborhood, but I drew this one in my journal from memory on a slippery, cold day. I was experimenting with gold gouache as a background. I sketched in the tree, using more imagination than observation, then used quinacridone gold watercolor for the trunk and limbs, adding various transparent watercolors and colored pencils. It's about the golden winter light from a few days ago, about the way sumac looks so curvy and so alive with its reddish brown flame shaped pods. Actually I did a little research and they're called "drupes" or "sumac bobs." They always delight me.
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ReplyDeleteNever heard of these trees. Will have to google them. This is lovely. Keep hearing about that Q.gold color you used, its a pretty color.
ReplyDeleteQuinacridone colors are a little more dazzling and have a bit of what I can only describe as a glow. The gold is nice because it has a wide range of shades depending on how much water you use and it adds a glow to some other colors. Thanks!
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