On my worktable this week I have had two panels depicting leaves.

Same size, same content, same basic composition. But as different as they could be. (Like two kids growing up in the same household. One sometimes looks at them and says, “How did THAT happen!”)

In the case of my leaf panels, I do know why they are so different. And I learned some good lessons along the way.

First: Why panels of leaves?

I am developing up a few pieces in which a smaller panel (along the side or along top or bottom) will relate to — but not actually be a part of — images in a single larger panel. Worked as whole-cloth pieces, or almost whole cloth pieces.

I would be creating the leaf panel by printing some pattern, masking off the large leaves, and then overprinting with a deeper color for the background.

Here’s a closeup of the first one.

Lots of color. Opaque paint. Strong pattern.

And here is how the panel looks:

I think this is a fun, colorful piece. In some other work, it might be an interesting component.

But, for the piece I am developing, it was a bad fit.

The rest of the work has patterns made from simple tree-shape stencils. And the colors are more subtle.

So… I needed a panel of leaves with a different look.

Here’s a close-up of my second version.

Aside from the color choice, the big difference is the use of paint. I started the background with a light, wet-into-wet paint wash with tree limb shapes as masks. Then, in the second imprint, I used a more subdued color that prints in the tree pattern used in the rest of the work.

In this panel, as is generally the best practice for a whole painting, I started less intense and gave myself someplace to go in the foreground. (That was not the case for version one.)

Here is the second version of the leaf panel.

I wish I had created it right fist time around.

But I’m pleased with what I learned, rediscovered, on the second version.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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