Working with Leaves and paint
I have been working with leaves through most of my endeavors in Art. I collect leaves locally, on my travels and gratefully accept them from my friends. While living in California, I used fresh leaves with acrylic paint. After applying paint to the leaf, I then made my "marks" onto canvas. After moving to Montana, I soon realized that I didn't have access to those treasured fresh leaves in the winter, so the next spring I tried freezing them. I was delighted to find new options. Some leaves freeze well and other don't.....they loose their body and get mushy. I began experimenting with watercolours when I discovered that freezing the leaf softens some of the veins and allows the leaf to sink into the paper making new exciting marks. A leaf mark made with acrylic paint is quite different than one made with watercolours. I also use leaves for mark making on my gelli-plate. I can create mono-prints that I use for collage.
