It’s nearing the end of Autumn and leaves are falling and making lovely, rustly heaps of crunchiness on pavements and parks all over UK. So, this post is about experimentation and it all started with a walk in the woods. Greenfield Valley woods to be exact.
I took some photos of the leaves while walking along and the next day it was so rainy I decided to make a study of them in my sketchbook.
To preserve the feeling of Autumn leaves in my journal I decided to make some prints, so I dashed out between the clouds and collected some. I was careful to choose newly fallen leaves and some from the tree, to get the best print impressions. I have found that the crumbly leaves from the ground don’t make the best prints. I rolled out some acrylic paint on my silicon baking mat and placed some ‘Autumn leaves’ on top. Now it was not the first print I was after …. Having rolled on top of the paper covering the leaves, I removed the leaves showing the impressions that had been made in the remaining print. These are what make the ghost prints. I laid a fresh sheet of paper on top and pressed it down with my hands, being careful not to move it. Then I pulled it and, ta da, beautiful impressions of the leaves to use in my art.
Next time I will show how I used the leaf prints in my journal.