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Have you ever noticed the fantastic shadows created by leaves, on sidewalks and paved roads? I wanted to recreate some of those almost serrated shadows in a still life, so I collected an assortment of colourful  autumn leaves today, arranged them in a vase, and placed it on a table in full sun.
In this watercolour study, there was light coming in from two different windows - creating two distinct light sources. This is always a challenge to paint, and this case was no exception!
The light was hitting the vase and table from the left side, as well as - higher up on the vase - from the front.
This 8" x 10" study was enough to show me that this composition would be better with only one light source, as the shadows are somewhat confusing. The diagonal shadow one on the wall, from one of the  two window frames. doesn't make much sense in the composition.
I'll definitely plan to do this one as a full painting, as I adore the shadows of the leaves on the vase and off to the side... but these would look much better without the interference of that diagonal shadow intersecting the vase.