07 Feb A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #17

We went a little “off grid” in our last lesson and enjoyed it immensely. So, this week, we took it even further and did not even draw out the design on grid paper. This week’s brushwork lesson #17, from the book, Brushwork Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson, was a design on laburnum. It was basically four hanging branches of laburnum. There is no point to attempt to place each flower on the grid in a precise way, so we free-styled it and loved every minute of it!

As we learned in Brushwork, Lesson #16, the laburnum is a small ornamental tree best known for its long, drooping clusters of bright yellow flowers that bloom in late spring. It is native to central and southern Europe and grows best in cool, temperate climates.

Materials Needed

• The book, Brushwork, Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson (also available online HERE)
• 1″ absorbent grid paper
• Watercolor paints (green, yellow, and brown)
• Watercolor Paintbrush, we used a Princeton Velvetouch , round size 6
• A glass of water (not used for drinking)
• A small plate for mixing paint and water
• A napkin to dry the brush

Happy Handicrafts Video: A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #17

The Process

This is one of the lessons that required three paint colors. We used green, yellow, and brown.

We started by painting the shape of the branch piece and coloring it in in green. I didn’t want to start with the color brown, as it would dramatically muddy our water. The green instead of brown, allowed us to paint the branch as a placeholder, knowing that we would return to paint it brown at the end.

We added three sets of leaves to the branch, then painted in four long stems, falling from the branch to the bottom of the page. These stems are the bases for our laburnum. I then changed to the yellow paint, which did not seem to suffer from the slightly green water. Down each side of the lines, I painted the laburnum flowers with two overlapping brush forms, one flower on each side alternately.

The calyx is painted with two touches of green, layering over the flower, then attaching each calyx to the stalk with a light swipe of the paint brush.

The project was finished by drawing a separation of the flower pedals with a brown marker.

Come Join Us!

If you’re just finding us, you can get started with our first brushwork lesson and advance according to your skill. All of our videos are stored on YouTube at Happy Handicrafts. You don’t have to start with brushwork – we have paper sloyd, needle-felting, crochet, and more. Go explore and choose which playlist will be the best for you and your family! We’ll see you there!