Grab Your Salt Shaker!



Seasons at Herb Parsons Lake

Watercolor 9" x 12" Mats to 14" x 16"

An old tree with with a broken off limb made for an interesting subject found during an outing at a nearby lake.    This early fall scene made for an interesting subject to paint.

The background was painted in shades of green and orange which were allowed to blend together with no definition of trees, grasses, or leaves - only the impression of them.  Thus the emphasis was placed on the tree trunk and leaves.

Watercolor tip:

Now grab that salt shaker!

The lichen was painted by dropping in several shades of green and generously sprinkling with salt.  When the paint and salt dried, it was bushed off to the reveal the white areas of lichen shaped spaces.  No extra painting required!  This same technique was used in the area of the tree trunk on the upper right side where the bark had fallen off.  I dropped in various colors of paint:  Paynes' Gray, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Umber painting wet on wet.  While the paint was still wet, the salt was applied.

Use different types of salt to create different sizes of shapes.....table salt, pretzel salt, and even ice cream salt make some interesting designs in the paint.

So grab that salt shaker and see what happens!

Happy Painting!

Karen