I learned at the 2011 Christmas party that several of our members are frustrated by holly. I know that everyone has their favorite painting technique so I will focus on the how to draw the design and then you can ‘paint it your way’.  See below for all the illustrations I am referring to.

It is not necessary to have the exact number of veins on each side of the leaf (except on the skeleton holly). It is easier to get nicely shaped holly if you have the stem pointed at you and you are pulling the ‘C’s vertically rather than horizontally.

If you have a misshapen or flat area on the holly- turn the leaf by drawing a ‘c’ or even two small ‘c’s that connect on the inside. An example is found on finished ‘C’ holly. The tips of the leaf are also fun to turn.

Don’t worry if your holly is a bit scraggly or wonky looking. If you will notice the bottom holly band, the first 4 leaves have been outlined, the tips of the leaf sections emphasized and a few berries added. The last 3 leaves are rather scraggly looking until they get their details too! If all else fails- fleck with lots of snow!

To make a band of holly leaves, I suggest you use your fingers to mark the sections (2 finger width for small leaves, 3 for larger leaves). Alternate the stem direction- up, down, up down, etc. ( if you have  an uneven number of sections, then go to the up, down, straight, up, down, straight formula so that when the leaves meet it wont be so obvious—also: start in the back!!)

Holly groups are fun to paint. As always, begin with the veins, this time space them farther apart. Pick the leaf that will be the center point and complete it with veins and ‘c’s. then begin filling in the remaining stems without crossing over the first and main leaf. To keep the shape right, make imaginary ‘c’s thru the first leaf or chalk in the lines to maintain a nice shape.

I know this is more a design segment, but on the color side- I have fallen in love with using turquoise like colors as a reflected light on my holly- really makes the greens and the red berries pop as well as making the leaves glow. Outlining in gold is really elegant. And don’t forget to add some red glazes to the leaves- the same red you are using on the berries- kind of marries the two elements together.

Happy ‘Holly’-Days

Lori Larkey

HOLLY  HELP

by

Lori Larkey