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LINDA'S TECHNIQUES | TEA WASH

A tea wash is a very light layer of paint.   When using the tea wash to establish your highlights or a halo, the mixture is 80-90 percent water to pigment.  It also is made with transparent, staining pigments.  The leaves in this example were painted with Prussian Blue.  The first step is to prime your element first by applying one coat of clear water for 140 weight papers and two coats of clear water for 300 lb paper. Priming ensures that your wash will have an even, smooth appearance and it allows you to create a gradation from top to bottom.   Yet what is most important is that you allow the "sheen" on the paper to disappear before you lay on your tea wash or for that matter any layer of color.  If not, you will be working wet in wet and you may not be able to control the way the pigment rests/dries on the paper. Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blog

LINDA'S FAVORITE TOOLS | STYLUS

Over the last seven years I have used a mechanical pencil to "trace" my drawing onto my watercolor paper.  I own two mechanical pencils, a .5 and .3, and have been using the .3 because it produces a finer line. BUT it also breaks quite easily.  I was transferring my pineapple drawing and became frustrated, very frustrated.......note, artist problem solving opportunity! In the 90's I took tole painting classes. It was popular back then, much like the painting parties are today.  To transfer the pattern to your project, one would use a waxy graphite paper and a stylus .  I still have that very stylus. So I took it out and began to trace over my pineapple drawing and it works! Oh my and it works!  Why?  At the end of the stylus is a round ball.  It is smooth and will create a smooth line on your paper and it DOES NOT break! Here is what the tool looks like.  I recently purchased this stylus from the Holcraft Company for my upcoming art demonstration. I purchas

LINDA'S FAVORITE BOOKS | A PASSION FOR PLANTS and more...

This book had been in my library for the last eight years and it is one of my favorites to study from.  For years it was on my lap while I watched TV in the evening hours.  The range of specimens and artists is one of the best on the market.  I own the paperback version. This second book is one of the best books to learn about color mixing and how a painting progresses by adding washes and adding details.  The book chapters are divided by color and almost each chapter has a step by step project for you to learn by.  My only caveat is to be mindful that each artist has a "favorite" palette and you could end up buying more than you need, if you follow their recipes.    This last book is one of the best books to learn how to paint botanical portraits using primary, secondary and tertiary colors.  This book will change how you see and paint any subject!     Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lind

LINDA'S TECHNIQUES | WORKING WITH LIVE SPECIMENS

Here is another way of working with live specimens!  For years, I would place my cutting in a vase, lay it down on my drafting board, or even take a photo.  Three years ago Carol and Margaret gave me a wonderful gift that they use when painting still life paintings.  It is made of plywood, with a base and two sides.  It allows you to photograph your subject and control the lighting.  That evening, I brought it up to the studio.  I looked around the room and thought, “Lets take my foam core boards and place them into the box.”   Eureka!    Next, I began to go around the studio photographing my dried specimens and then the persimmon fruit branches that I collected that day, laying them on the base or taping them to the board.       I found that the lines for drawing and the colors for painting were so much easier to see with this whiter than white background.    Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://

LINDA'S PAINTNG TECHNIQUES | PURPLE FOR DARK VALUES

I have been painting botanicals since 2008 and here is a new painting from one of our fall treasures, the Magnolia grandiflora.  The red seeds are so striking and hang by a thin white thread!  My darks, the darkest darks are purple and the key is to ensure that both the red and blue are transparent, not semi-transparent and NEVER opaque!       Thank you for visiting, Linda Linda C Miller  Artist | Naturalist | Instructor http://www.lindacmillerbotanicalart.com https://thebotancialblogger.blogspot.com/ Copyright Linda C. Miller 2022 To receive my new posts visit  The Botanical Blogger  -   SCROLL UP  to the top and  SIGN UP !   

LINDA'S TOOLS | PAINTS

  When painting,  I always start with transparent pigments.  You may add a semi-transparent pigment to your mix; but DO NOT add an opaque pigment.  Opaque pigments sit on top of your paper and will move around as you add washes.  THIS will CREATE MUDespecially if the three primaries are involved ! Note: Most transparent paints are staining and do not lift out completely. Most manufacturers have small boxes on their tubes. I * A white box indicates a transparent pigment; * a black box an opaque.  * A split box – half white/half black tube indicates a semi-transparent pigment. Also, all pigments are given an alphanumeric code that is listed on every Artist Quality tube of paint.  The pigment code is the same across all manufacturers unless the manufacturer created the pigment.  All secondary colors are made with at least two pigments (ie. greens, oranges and purples.)  So if you like a color, you may read the pigments listed on the tube,

LINDA'S TECHNIQUES | MIXING GREEN

When painting flora, we spend a great deal of time painting green.  I created this chart back in 2010 and I still carry it in my portfolio case.   I selected five yellow and six blue/green pigments from my arsenal.   I also made up a large batch of purple to act as a neutralizing tint.   You will see variances with each yellow/blue combination though there is no significant difference between the Prussian Blue and Pthalo Blue rows.   Notice in all cases that when purple was added (+P), the mixture becomes browner or even gray.  Why? All three primaries are in the mix. If I were to do this chart again, I would add more Lemon Yellow to the mixtures to show how bright the greens can be, no matter which blue you work with. Lemon Yellow is my "go to yellow" for brightening my green passages. Notice as you paint with green ~ it dulls when it dries.   Simply add several coats of Lemon Yellow and your greens will come back to life! Thank