Making Leaf Rubbings

Making leaf rubbings, like the paintings of leaves that I wrote about in the last post, is another easy, low risk way to respond in a creative way to the beautiful colours of autumn.

Here in England, the leaves are still coming off the trees and we’re not yet into winter, so here at least there are plenty still.

Making leaf rubbings is an activity that we tend to associate with children, but sometimes coming at these kind of playful things with an adult perspective can bring about results that are more refined but are every bit as joyful.

I actually almost didn’t write this post, as the leaf rubbings I made were not what I was expecting. The results were far messier, and not at all what I had imagined!

But there is far to much online that gives a false sense of perfection already, and just because the results were different actually doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with them. It just means that they are different. And they are lovely, just not what I thought they would be.

So I encourage you to have a go and enjoy it without worrying about the results too much!

Here are the leaf rubbings I made.

You can probably see that despite my best efforts, the paper and the leaf moved about a bit. I quite like it though! It looks like layers of leaves, and makes them seem slightly fuzzy and out of focus.

Here’s what to do if you want to try it yourself!

You Will Need

A leaf. I used similar leaves, but you might like to try ones of different shapes and sizes.

Thin paper. Printer paper will do, but if your leaves are larger, you might need paper bigger than A4. I used newsprint paper.

Wax crayons, oil pastels, or soft pastels. You could also try chalk. For soft pastels and chalk, I’d recommend using fixative spray, otherwise your rubbings will smudge like nobody’s business.

Instructions

Pop the leave on the table, veiny side up.

Place a piece of paper over the top.

Holding the paper and the leave still, rub all over the leaf using the side of the crayon or pastel.

Tips

It’s likely to get messy, but try not to worry about it too much.

It’s a good idea to use paper that is bigger than the leaf, but you might also like to try doing rubbings of parts of leaves, especially if the leaves are bigger than the paper.

Try to resist the urge to stick the leaf down with blue tack or tape. Even a tiny bit of washi tape will show up in your rubbings.

You might like to use several colours. You could try specific colours on particular sections. I sort of did this, but I think if I was to try it again I would experiment with using one colour for the main part of the leaf, and a different colour for the edges.

Experiment with different colours, including unrealistic ones. It wasn’t until I made the blue rubbing that I realised I liked them! For some reason, the blue one helped me to see the rubbings differently. I could appreciate the lines and shapes and the fuzziness without feeling bothered that they weren’t neat and tidy and realistic.

Make lots, then have a look at them when you have finished. See which ones you like, and if you want to, try to identify why.

If you try this, I’d love to see! Feel free to send me an email at [email protected], or tag me on Instagram or Facebook.