One day as I was walking home and found myself thinking of the ever changing fall colours and the shedding of the leaves from the trees, I picked up a leaf. I was instantly amazed at all of the details it contained and felt inspired. I was in awe of the complexity of nature and wanted to capture it using realism. I used different pencils to contrast the light and dark parts of the leaf and all of its veins and midrib. I find it interesting how leaves are so common nobody thinks of how beautiful, unique and complex they truly are. I used tapes to hold the leaf in place and decided to draw them as well. I thought they gave elegance to the final picture.

technique:  graphite on opaline paper 

measurements:  8 x 14