So this week I wanted to continue the winter theme and work on practicing layering. What better way to do this than to tackle some wreaths! It also combined aspects of my favourite painting exploration: monochrome.

Photo of paint palette before and after mixing greens, by Chelsea Clark

I started by setting out my palette with green, yellow, brown, blue, purple, black, and red. Then I mixed 5 different shades of green to use for the different foliage. I could also add different amounts of water to the colours to make them lighter or darker on the page.

Photo of First Wreath in 4 steps, by Chelsea Clark

For wreath #1, i started with a brown stick and added some dark leaves. For this wreath, I wanted to see what would happen if I maintained all layers with high saturation. Next I added more brown sticks and put bright green pine needles on them. Then I added a bluer version of the first leaves and a the darkest green leaves overtop. I finished it with some red berries. Before moving on to the next wreath, I noted how cramped and crowded this wreath looked.

Photo of Second Wreath in 4 steps, by Chelsea Clark

For wreath #2, I started with pale green leaves and pine needles before adding more saturated leaves on top. Then I added bright green pine needles and the berries on top. The twigs are still quite crowded in this wreath, but the layering of different values as well as shades adds more interest and realism to this wreath.

Photo of Third Wreath in 5 steps, by Chelsea Clark

For my third (and favourite) wreath, I went back to the techniques I learned last week. I started with the pale cotton branches then added some pale leaves. Next I added bundles of red berried in various values and added in their sticks. Lastly, I made sure to make long and spread out pine needles to take up more space.

Photo of the Last Wreath, by Chelsea Clark

For my final wreath, I decided to try different shaded on the same type of branch. I drew two long brown branches and added pine needles in different shades and values, trying to spread them out inside and outside the circle. Then I added berries in different shades.

Photo of all 4 Wreaths on one page, by Chelsea Clark

When you look at all four together I think you can see the progression I make as I learn from ‘mistakes.” This makes me think of how students learn in a classroom. We often ask then to produce one good final project without letting them try things and tweak things along the way. There is value in letting them explore, see what works and what doesn’t, and give them a chance to learn from their own experimentation.