I invite you to join our DIY on creating an Autumn Leaf picture. It is best to find a real leaf in a park because no photo conveys true nature. Or use a good picture of it. So, tune into the autumn mood and pay attention to lighting of your workplace. Drawing requires daylight or proper white lighting.

You need:

• an autumn leaf (or its photo)
• a sheet of watercolour paper, A5 (half of A4)
• watercolour paints (I used Leningrad)
• water
• squirrel brush 8
• kolinsky brush 2 or 1
• ordinary pencil
• formoplast (or eraser)

These are Leningrad paints.

You need only three basic colours: cadmium yellow medium, yellow ochre and burnt Sienna. And two more are mentioned later.

Step 1

Draw the leaf with the formoplast and pencil.

Step 2

Begin to paint. Mix yellow with water + take the brush 8 = cover the whole leaf. Paint with the drop formed on the tip of the brush.

Step 3

While the leaf is still wet, pick a little ochre and burnt Siena with brush 2 + slightly touch the leaf = the paint spreads over the wet surface creating an effect of a realistic leaf.

Step 4

Soak the leaf from the other side. That provides specific stains like on a true leaf.

Step 5

The leaf is still wet. Take yellow paint + apply it to some places. Do not try to exactly reproduce all the colours, let your imagination work.

Step 6

Now add some green. If the surface has dried, wet it with a brush and clean water.

Step 7

Dab yellow on the lower part of the leaf. The tone is added gradually. It's better to paint with approximately tansparent diluted yellow paint waiting for each layer to dry, and thus gaining the right tone, rather than to apply rich yellow blend and then fail overlaping it with another colour.

Step 8

Now proceed to drawing the veins. Take brush 2 or 1 + burnt Siena. Try to paint a thin line first on YOUR palette. Then on the drawing.

Step 9

Paint the dark edges of the leaf with the same blend you made for veins. Use burnt Siena.

Step 10

Mix yellow and ochre to draw the darker parts at the top.

Step 11

Draw dark spots with burnt Sienna. Draw the dark parts where you want. Improvise.

Step 12

Detalize the darkened edges of the leaf with the thin brush. Use burnt Sienna.

Step 13

Draw dark parts at the top of the leaf. Use burnt Sienna. Draw 'stripes' = the veins.

Step 14

Emphasize the dark parts and veins.

Step 15

The final step. Use blue paint to emphasize the central vein of the leaf. Since this watercolour is warm, blue cold paint should be applied: put a point at the right hand half — a small hole in the leaf.

And the leaf is ready! I think you will succeed. I wish you good luck and creativity! Paint with love!