“Persimmon Branch” 36″ x 48″ oil and metal leaf – $4,500
The exciting part of starting a new technique is how it evolves over time as I get comfortable with the new aspects of it. The journey of my work with oil and metal leaf has been fascinating as each addition to my knowledge of the medium takes place.
Four years ago, I started using the composition gold metal leaf as a shimmering factor of aspen trees and as I worked with the leaf in gold, silver and copper, I became more comfortable with the different ways of applying it. I first started using the loose leafs, carefully applying bits of them one by one to the adhesive.
I soon realized the difficulty of adding the whole square of the loose metal leaf and also purchased the “patent” leaf which is backed with tissue paper. This allowed me to do cut out squares and shapes, which I applied to the adhesive and peeled off the tissue paper. I was able to vary the sizes of the squares, create the sun, moon and plant and tree leaves with the metal leaf.
After that, I learned how to make a transition of the solid leaf and the painted image by applying the metal leaf bits and toning them with the transparent oil paint. After the paint dried, I would add more bits on top, which gave a visual depth to the painting.
My most recent addition to the technique has gone a further step to grind the loose metal leaf into a sieve and “powder” the background of the painting, laying down cut stencils and patterns of the leaves. “Persimmon Branch” is my first painting using this technique and I’m excited about exploring new ways to create atmospheres and abstract backgrounds behind the painted images.
