Silver Fern

For  Diana's 10 Minute Warm Up I have painted a Silver Fern.  In fact it is yesterday's entry as well as it has taken two days to do.  I find greens quite a challenge; they can look quite harsh sometimes.  But I think I succeeded in getting a softer look.  I used gouache it seems to be softer, I think because it is opaque.

Silver Fern

I love silver Ferns, they are our national tree and the leaf is our national emblem (see my welcome badge on sidebar), not the Kiwi.  In certain light, the underneath of the fronds are silver, and that use to fascinate me as a child.  My Dad’s bush farm had hundreds of them and some were giants and pushed through the canopy of the bush, creating a wonderful texture.  There are not that many in the region that I am living in, here in the Wairarapa, it is mostly cabbage trees!  Yes cabbage trees, they are like giant dracaenas.  Perhaps I will paint one next week as there is one across the road.

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