Weeds and grass add texture and interest with their sensuous, linear shapes. They grow, in one form or another, in most natural environments no matter how arid or cold. There are a hundred different kinds of grass, and as we consider the subject as artists, we must keep this in mind. What effect are we after? A carefully trimmed lawn in the middle distance will simply be a nearly featureless expanse accomplished more than likely by laying in an area of closely spaced strokes and then blending softly. If you need more detail, you can add lines of a different color, value and direction while wet and then blend quickly so as not to lift the pigment too much. When everything is thoroughly dry, you can add however much additional detail you wish, then touch it with water on a small round brush or leave it as is.
TWINS—WINTER
Watercolor pencil on Canson Montval cold-pressed watercolor paper
10" × 7" (25cm × 18cm)
I loved the contrast between the warmly colored broomsedge, a grassy plant that turns to red-gold in the fall, and the wintry forest beyond with its chilly blues and lavenders. The deep shadows of the two cedar trees with their soft, lacy coats of snow made another lovely contrast. I used no masking fluid here, just painted around areas I wished to keep light. I used quick, bold, expressive strokes to suggest the leaves of the broomsedge, blending the first layer with water, allowing it to dry and adding more strokes on top. For the bare deciduous trees, I used Blue Grey and Ivory Black for the sharp, calligraphic lines of limb and branch and blended the smaller branches that were drawn in with a very sharp watercolor pencil and an almost dry-brush stroke with a small watercolor brush to suggest the finest twigs. The final touch was to add the tracks of a small forest animal in the foreground, just visible in the cold blue of the snow.