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| 10/17/26 F-C Pitt Artist Brush Pens in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook (photo reference) |
If you look closely at the individual leaves of trees that
are turning, you’ll see that most exhibit a gradient range of hues. With tiny
Japanese maple leaves, the effect is intensified: As small as they are, each
still shows a gradient at varying stages of change. From a distance, the visual
effect is that the tree looks like a haze of hues: Optical color mixing at its
best. It’s different from foliage consisting of much larger leaves, which tends
to appear more like large masses of individual hues.
Dashing out for a quick walk and sketch before the predicted rain, I got caught in a shower. I didn’t sketch, but I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos to use later. (See end of post for some Japanese maples from my walking route. Neighborhood leaf peeping continues!).
I’ve always felt that colored pencils and especially watercolor pencils are among the best media to capture that haze of hues I’m talking about. I needed my InkTober sketch for the day, though, so I pulled out my daily-carry palette of Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens. It occurred to me that I had probably never used markers to try to capture the Japanese maple effect: It was an excellent opportunity for the challenge!
The result is above. To avoid the “heavy” look that markers can impart fairly quickly, I used the side of the brush nib to get a more pointillist effect.
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| 10/17/26 Cd'A Museum Aquarelle watercolor pencils in Hahnemuhle Akademie Aquarell sketchbook (photo reference) |
With the help of toothy Hahnemühle paper and a relatively dry waterbrush, it was easy to get that haze of color that looks more “realistic” (and frankly, I do love that look). Although the brush marker version doesn’t capture the haze as well, I think it seems fresher and more animated. At least in this case, it surprises me that I prefer it!
What about you? Let me know your favorite media for capturing Japanese maples!
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