This is the beginning of a collection: examples of painted grass.
When I paint grass I usually start with large shapes first, light swathes of masses break the canvas into smaller segments. I use a rag sometimes to form the first shapes, then a bristle brush so the bristles scrape away the paint as much as they apply it, leaving hair-like light lines in the color. Upward strokes starting from the top (the farthest away) and working down the canvas helps the lower grasses cover the blunt feet of the brushstrokes higher up, and the overlap gives the illusion that the lower forms are closer. Masses, or swatches, vary slightly in color so I don’t end up with a wallpaper effect, and grass in the background is heavily mixed with the sky color so atmospheric perspective can help me get some air in there. The second layer has a bit more definition, here and there an upward stroke in dark (shadows), then color (bold), then light (highlights) on top. Foreground has the most contrast. Don’t do every blade. Let the viewer’s eye do the work. When it comes to detail like this, less is more.
Lendy and I have been trading drawing images lately. She sent me these by Ginny Grayson. Lendy and I often share artworks with each other, some of them end up in V. Notes. We’ve been sharing drawings especially because we both love them so much, and they are underrepresented in galleries and museums. People often …
People posted hundreds of drawings for our 30 day January challenge, in which artists are invited to respond to a daily prompt posted on our V. Notes blog. Unlike other drawing challenges, these prompts are wildly varied, open to non-typical materials around us, and are designed to feed a broad spectrum of creative skills at …
It’s time for me to introduce new experiments into my paintings. I’m taking a look back at surfaces, and how to alter the surface to have a different effect on my final painting. How can I get more finely tuned? How can I get more playful? How can I get more volume or color so my …
Painting Grass
This is the beginning of a collection: examples of painted grass.
When I paint grass I usually start with large shapes first, light swathes of masses break the canvas into smaller segments. I use a rag sometimes to form the first shapes, then a bristle brush so the bristles scrape away the paint as much as they apply it, leaving hair-like light lines in the color. Upward strokes starting from the top (the farthest away) and working down the canvas helps the lower grasses cover the blunt feet of the brushstrokes higher up, and the overlap gives the illusion that the lower forms are closer. Masses, or swatches, vary slightly in color so I don’t end up with a wallpaper effect, and grass in the background is heavily mixed with the sky color so atmospheric perspective can help me get some air in there. The second layer has a bit more definition, here and there an upward stroke in dark (shadows), then color (bold), then light (highlights) on top. Foreground has the most contrast. Don’t do every blade. Let the viewer’s eye do the work. When it comes to detail like this, less is more.
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Ginny Grayson’s drawings
Lendy and I have been trading drawing images lately. She sent me these by Ginny Grayson. Lendy and I often share artworks with each other, some of them end up in V. Notes. We’ve been sharing drawings especially because we both love them so much, and they are underrepresented in galleries and museums. People often …
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People posted hundreds of drawings for our 30 day January challenge, in which artists are invited to respond to a daily prompt posted on our V. Notes blog. Unlike other drawing challenges, these prompts are wildly varied, open to non-typical materials around us, and are designed to feed a broad spectrum of creative skills at …
Grounds for…
It’s time for me to introduce new experiments into my paintings. I’m taking a look back at surfaces, and how to alter the surface to have a different effect on my final painting. How can I get more finely tuned? How can I get more playful? How can I get more volume or color so my …