I look at leaves all the time, through every season
And painting a leaf helps me to experiment with new materials and techniques without having to think first about what to paint.
Leaves in some form are present in many of my paintings. The image shown above is a montage of three stylized leaf paintings. Each painting is of a single leaf painted on a 12mm thick board using acrylic.
A successful garden for me is one with plenty of leaf variety.
Some provide background and others give form to a garden – or a painting. Flowers are fleeting and do not always bloom and that is part of their charm, but leaves are reliable.
I pick them up, press them and paint them. I have printed some and gilded some. I eat them too. I like my greens.
They are beautiful when they are growing and beautiful when they have done their job and fallen to the ground.
Full of colour, available in numerous shapes and textures, leaves can be where abstract paintings begin or provide a model for a detailed study. They can represent any feeling, both individually and as part of a multitude of leaves on a whole plant.
Image of 12 leaf paintings
These are small, but I have made large paintings in a similar style painted on canvas or heavy paper, also in acrylic.