Pour It On - Finishing Touches!

The dogwood painting is almost complete. In this blog, we'll add the finishing touches.

The photo above is the finished dogwood painting. The photo below will show the next step in the process.

How to paint the main branches:
Prepare a wash of the following colors:

Ultramarine Blue
Sepia
Van Dyke Brown
Medium Yellow

Start by painting the large branches with clean water. Allow to dry only until the paper loses its shine. Using Sepia, paint along one side only of the branch allowing the water to pull the paint up through the water to the other side of the branch. While still wet, add the following in various places along the branch to indicate shadows areas of light and variation in colors:

Ultramarine Blue
Van Dyke Brown
Medium Yellow

Dip a piece of a plastic credit card or a palette knife in a wash of Van Dyke Brown and add the smaller branches.

Look over your painting and add any details you would like. I like my paintings to be Impressionistic rather then detailed, so I added only a few detail lines in the dogwood blossoms.

Sign your name. Congratulations! Your dogwood blossom is now complete and will last much longer than the blossoms on the trees!

Happy Painting!
Karen