Holly and Ivy Update

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

Ok...I just had to get that out of my system because it's been bouncing around in my head all week ...

It's been a challenge for me to remember to stop and photograph the creative process of this illustration. I've gotten so wrapped up in it that I keep forgetting to document everything in photos! Oh, well...I did manage to take a couple of pics with my phone to share.



This was just before I began layering the Faber-Castell polychromos base green color of earth green yellowish on the holly leaves. The additional colors used for these leaves are permanent green olive and cadmium yellow.



All the leaves still have lots more defining and detailing needed before they're finished. The colors for the ivy that I'm using are chrome oxide green(a near perfect color match to the ivy in my garden) and earth green yellowish. I took a break from all the green work and started coloring in the holly berries. For them I used pale geranium lake as the base and red violet for the darker areas. I have more detail work to go on them as well but once I began layering reds on them, it really motivated me to keep going. Hum...red is my favorite color. I wonder if that might have something to do with it. :)

Keeping fingers crossed that I finish the illustration over the weekend...