Fiddlehead Ferns

Fiddlehead Ferns

Away from the New England coastline, in moist, woodland areas, it is common to see clumps of fiddle head ferns this time of year.    Their bright green curly tops stand out against winter's
peat colored bed of dead leaves and grasses.  They unfurl one-by-one in clumps and are among the first sprouts of spring.

The process of capturing these emerging greens began by setting out the composition, roughly a third in warmer light (the sunlit bed of leaves) and two thirds with blue/brown undertones, darker/deeper blues for shadows.  I then carved out the ferns with my rubber tipped wipe out tool; this was to ensure a smooth texture to represent the fuzzy gray-green sprouts.     In order to keep the colors in harmony, I mixed a bit of Gamblin's Radiant Violet into each of the colors on the palette as I worked.   The simple technique of putting dark ferns against light, and sunlit ferns against shadow helped to create a more eye catching pattern.