Footpath, Lower Hartlip Road

The main three colours today were Prussian blue, quinacridone magenta and transparent yellow, the key of cool green, made up of three cool primaries.  I started with French ultramarine rather than Prussian blue (it’s in the sky) but at some point made the mistake of switching to Prussian blue.  Very odd for me.  I only noticed at the end when I wanted to use a cool blue in the shadows and realised I’d been using a cool blue all along.

Anyway, this one started with masking out tree trunks, the signpost, fence posts, the gate, bits (but not all) of the wire fence and (for the first time) my initials, followed by some masking fluid spatters.  The wire fence and the thinner branches were added using masking fluid in a mapping pen.  I then just painted away, removing masking fluid where necessary.  For the foliage in the trees, I dabbed on quite dry paint using a natural sponge.  The last bits were the addition of shadow at the front (deliberately in cool colours to make it look like a hot day), the addition of some cadmium yellow notices to the telephone pole and some spatters of cobalt blue, cadmium yellow and cadmium red.

It’s come out ok.  The colours of the grass in the field and the cool shadows at the front are the best bit.  The gradation in the tree trunks, the thin white branches and the colours of the leaves are also good but I’m not keen on some of the thicker branches with white edges.  Compositionally, it’s a bit symmetrical and central.  I was aware of this but didn’t realise how much it would detract from the green footpath sign, which is barely noticeable.

This one was donated to the local church as a raffle prize.  It went to someone from the village who’s very active in the church and does a great coffee and walnut cake at the Summer church teas.