As we begin a new Winter Semester at BYU-I, one of the assignment we do is Negative Painting. This is a great way to see positive and negative shapes as a duality, also taught in Notan Principles. You begin with a shape then using a high key mingled wash place in two pigments. This painting has Cobalt Teal and Raw Sienna a great combination. Let this mingled wash dry, then add more shapes of varying sizes and paint around these. Note the creation of dark's the last step that goes behind the leaf shapes. This dark pattern is just off the center in design creating an informal balance.
These leaves come from my aspen tree just in front of my deck. It is early spring here in Idaho and the Robins are gathering in my aspen, ceder and long needle pine trees. It brings a lot of pleasure watching them hop from the ground to obtain ceder berries from off the bottom limbs. There are now two morning doves that have joined the chores of bird song. The earth is a place of great joy to my soul. If there was one thing I am very grateful for it is the earth, its creation is a wonder.
