Leaf Ghost #234

There’s a lot going on with this one.

For starters, it’s the first bi-state leaf ghost. I did the under sketch at home in Kansas City. Then I painted the background on vacation just north of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Then I painted the foreground back home in Kansas.

Part of the decision was driven by the weather. Frequent rain kept me off the deck for most of the trip, so I only ended up with time enough for the background. But more than the timing, I felt strongly that the leaf needed to be done in gouache (which of course I didn’t have with me).

The watercolor part was the same as the last one, only with 004 Ivory Black. The result reminded me of Stephen Gammell’s illustrations for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It’s a look I’ve been trying to master digitally for awhile now, so it was fun to see it crop up more or less by accident in a physical medium.

The effect also reminded me of smoke, so much so that I figured the leaf pretty much had to be fire colors. I also wanted it to be solid. Hence the gouache.

Speaking of which, this was my first time blending analogous colors. Both the dark and light squares of the foreground began with Holbein 035 Orange. But then I blended in 003 Scarlet for the dark sections and 033 Deep Yellow for the light sections.

Which also makes this my first foray into a mixed media piece using watercolor and gouache.

And technique-wise, this is also my first time doing a lift on dry watercolor. The little bit of background in row three column four bled in from the dark paint above it. So I lifted out a little of the color to bring back the needed contrast.

The result is almost narrative. Is it a top-down view of a flame floating in a cloud of smoke? Or perhaps a burning ember with smoke behind it? I’m generally not trying for storytelling with the whole leaf ghost thing, but I don’t mind it creeping in here and there. 

And finally, the ghost number is sequential digits. We won’t have that again for another 111 entries.