Leafy Prints

You might have noticed on my last Sunday photo that the leaves were especially colorful...

Their natural beauty had been "enhanced" with watercolors. We made prints using the wonderful leaves that Janis, my assistant, had collected. She's a talented water colorist who took the lead on this project.
Once the leaves were collected, Janis pressed them in a phone book. To use for printing, the leaves still need to be soft and flexible. So the pressing is only for a few hours or overnight.
First, each student chose a few leaves, and then put a small amount of 3 colors (tube watercolor) on their palette.

They arranged their leaves on the watercolor paper, paying attention to the composition. Positive and negative space was discussed- the artists were to look at both as they decided where each leaf would be placed.

Next,the artists first brushed the leaf with soapy water, make sure the surface of the leaf would accept the watercolors.
After painting the back side of a leaf with one or more colors, they pressed it down on their paper, using a folded paper towel on top of it-to make sure they didn't tear the leaf.

They loved the surprise of seeing the texture as it appeared in their print.

Make it a Wonderful Day!