Daily Archives: August 16, 2012

Mimosa, Anyone?

sketch of mimosa blossom

"Mimosa, Anyone?" mixed media sketch by Kerry McFall

The scent of a mimosa tree is unmistakable, and so is everything else about it.  The leaves make wonderful fairy fans (you pull one off, hold it by the stem end, then strip the individual leaves into a little packet between your thumb and fingers; carefully unfold the “fan”), and if you get too close to the blossoms for a sniff, you get a nose full of fluff.   They are in full bloom in Corvallis, making me think I should buy some champagne and cranberry juice (allergic to oranges – dang) and indulge!

The floaty effect here was painting the blossom shape with plain water, dropping in a bit of yellow, letting it dry – which happened pretty fast at 98 degrees.  Then brushed in the pink edges, pink and red colored pencil for a few outward strokes, then a red Pigma .05 flicked outward, followed by dots, and eventually more colored pencil for the corals and darker pinks.  The leaves suggested a herringbone pattern, so I penciled in a few more lines in the background.  In photoshop I did a partial poster edge on some of it to help define the strokes.  Voila!  A fun way to spend a hot afternoon.