Watercolor card contest

This past spring I worked on several floral watercolors, which I painted on Strathmore cards.  So when I saw the Strathmore card contest I was ready to enter.  Except for on thing, the contest is for cards with a fall or winter subject.  Fall and winter are still a long way off, but I took a look at some of the fall leaves I painted while in Marilynn Brandenburger and Carol Parks' Illustrated Tree Journal class I took at the John C. Campbell Folk School several years ago.

I had sketched several journal pages of colorful fall leaves during that class and they were a perfect reference for this project.  I decided on re-working the cluster of White Oak leaves and the Scarlet Oak leaf.  The new card versions of the leaves would not have ink outlines, and the watercolor pigments would be the ones I use when painting in my studio, not from my field kit.  I also made some adjustments to better fit the dimensions of the cards.

For the White Oak leaf cluster I used several shades of yellow: Aureolin Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, Yellow Ochre.  The green leaves are Sap Green with a touch of Quinacridone Gold, and the acorns are Burnt Siena and Burnt Umber.  In the photo at right are: the large format journal entry (left), the draft sketch (bottom right) and finished card (top right). 

For the Scarlet Oak leaf I used Cadmium Yellow, Quinacridone Rose and Sap Green. The acorns is a mix of Burnt Siena and Burnt Umber.   In the photo at left are: the large format journal entry (left), the draft sketch (top right) and finished card (bottom right).  I experimented with an edging in the draft sketch, but decided to relocated the acorn instead on the card.