For this project we look at the fast-growing Tradescantia zebrina, also known as the silver inch plant. This trailing plant has rich green and purple leaves, striped with a silvery white.
› Hot-pressed watercolor paper
› Pencil
› Mixing palette
› Scrap watercolor paper for color testing
› Water jars
› No. 1 round brush
› 12mm (½in) oval wash brush
› No. 5 round brush
› No. 00 round brush
Cobalt Violet
Venetian Brown
Sap Green
Phthalo Green
Light tone
Cobalt Violet + Venetian Brown
Go easy on the brown
Midtone
Cobalt Violet + Venetian Brown
Use more brown
Dark tone
Cobalt Violet + Venetian Brown
Use even more brown
Green
Cobalt Violet + Sap Green + Phthalo Green
1/ Draw the stems and work out where the leaves branch out from them. Draw an uneven number of stems so that the design is organic. Make the leaves oversized, and fill the entire page. Establish which leaves will be striped and which ones will show the solid purple underside.
2/ Dip the No. 1 round brush in clean water and wet the stems, then paint them in using the lightest purple. Use the oval wash brush to apply a wash of water to the first leaf. Drop in the lightest purple at the top and base of the leaf, then use a clean No. 5 round brush to drag the pigment, starting to shade the shape of the leaf and its edges. Drop in the midtone mix at the base and tip to continue building up the leaf. Repeat for the next few purple leaves.
3/ Once the first leaf has started to dry a little, use the No. 00 round brush to drag pigment from either the base or tip of the leaf to create a delicate, subtle vein. Add more pigment if the existing pigment isn’t dragging out enough. Continue building up the leaves wet on wet, adding more pigment to develop the shape. Add the darkest purple mix to some of the leaves for contrast.
4/ To paint the striped leaves, return to the No. 5 round brush and apply a layer of clean water to what will be the green sections of one leaf. Drop in the green at the base or tip and drag the pigment over the shape. Continue working leaf by leaf, making some areas darker by using more pigment.
5/ When all the leaves are painted, return to the No. 00 round brush and the darkest purple mix to go over the stem again, adding definition and making it darker and thicker if necessary.
