Delamere Two

And here is my second go at the same subject matter! I must say I really do like this one. I got the sky colour I was after, even with a bit of yellow ochre thrown in (well, why not?!) with bright aquagreen, teal and titanium white. And the dark waters I wanted, using red cadmium, phyloblue, some sap green, a bit of ultrmarine blue with titanium white. The ripples look better too, maybe, not close up quite effective when viewing further away. Above all, the tree, the wonderful silver birch, one of my favourite trees, one of the earliest colonisers with alder and oak, I think, after the ice age saying look at me! I needed to do it justice, and took care over the trunk, changing to a smaller brush higher up, using titanium white and silver. I added sap green for the leaves, with a little ultramarine blue for the darker ones. Give it a go! See what it looks like. Next time, I'd take more care with the leaves and branches, aiming to show the shapes and the tones more clearly.

In comparison to Delamere I, where I felt tense, I felt relaxed and found the whole experience wonderful. Maybe, repeating a scene I'd painted before taught me things..? I'm sure this is true, but I also drew on a practice I have before I begin writing to calm me down and listen. All set up, I close my eyes and breathe for 5 minutes. And this can make all the difference.