Acanthus Leaves

Acanthus have twisting, turning leaves. They are a common motif in Medieval designs. Valerie had another worksheet prepared for us. This was another exercise I wasn't able to complete last time around. I was so happy to get a second chance to complete the assignment.

Painting the leaves involves a lot of shading. The process is very meditative, and if you're not careful, you'll blend away the dark and light tones.

It's hard to see from the photograph, but the gold background, painted with the Winsor Newton ink, is tooled. A vine and leaf design was embossed into the ink when it dried.