But other forms are feathery and delicate. Think of the leaves of a willow tree, wispy texture of a cirrus cloud, or tassels waving a wheatfield. These calls for painting pianissimo.
This is the view in front of my easel. I stood at the edge of the river near Clonmel, Ireland. It was a rare vista, with a complex foliage framing a clear sky. There was no simple blocky masses of tone. Instead, there were many thin twigs, and there were layers upon layers of leaves.
After a thin declared preliminary lay-in, I was painting the sky with just a thin veil of white and pale blue. For willow leaves (detail, above), I was hanging a large bristle brush lightly on the sky to suggest many leaves without paint one by one. I then added a few little taps on the edge of the ground using a sand round.
The same is true of the upper fringe of foliage. I block large masses of foliage with a large square brush, then added a fringe of individual sheets with a small brush. The aim is to give the impression that you see more detail than what is actually said.
The final table is 8x10 inches, painted in one session of about three hours. Most of the detail is mentioned. The key to this kind of painting is to use the largest brush as you can, but use them very slightly, slipping and scumbling. And in some areas, you can use small brushes to suggest the most delicate forms.
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Tomorrow: Matania-without a net
