next works

When the white gum painting is complete, I will explore the Jacaranda and Poinsettia. The trees are interesting in that, most of the leaves drop during flowering creating the familiar 'sea' of colour..

Work in progress

Hi,
I'm working on a white gum painting at the moment. I have sketched the subject in the frame on the paper that I use, which is 640gm Archers watercolour board. The background is 'out of focus' abstract shapes which reflects the essence of this particular eucalypt with pale cerulean blue, predominately at the top, to suggest that there is a sky peeping through the background.
I started by painting dark colours between the shapes and applying light coloured washes between them. This creates the abstract, out of focus, background.
The effect of this brings the true subject of the painting to the attention of the viewer.
In the composition, I try to create a triangle with a base at the bottom of the painting to give the painting 'stability' and keep the eye of the viewer on the subject.

The flower areas have been given some streaks of masking fluid which will be the last parts to be painted. Although the flowere are white, the majority of the flower colour will be cream to ochre and pale blue in the shadows because the flowers discolour as they die. I like to paint the inperfections because, even with inperfections, nature is perfect.