Backgrounds

Today I've taken aim at background effects. My reference is a photo of a canna lily taken at the Smith College greenhouses in 2010. Cannas have a beautiful mix of green leaves tinged with pink and red, and combined with a variegated dark background, this photo offers a bit of a challenge. Beginning with a light outline sketch of the foliage and two vine-like branches on the left, I painted the leaves with thin washes of Green Gold and Permanent Sap Green, then blocked in two branches on the left, blending Yellow Ochre with Burnt Sienna. Once this first layer of color was dry, I worked from left to right, adding background color by mingling rich mixtures of Green Gold, Winsor Blue (GS), Burnt Umber, Sepia, and Burnt Sienna. I'm using a Robert Simmons brand #785 White Sable Round brush, Size 8. It's a great brush –– not only is it affordable but it holds an edge/point nicely, carries a full load of pigment, and when a loaded brush is dragged sideways across dry paper...