And so, as my English summer trip recedes into memory and Brancaster Beach has been resigned to the growing pile of ‘must revisit’ paintings, my walk with Flint this morning had another purpose… to find a new subject.
Instead I seem to have rediscovered an old one – our neighbourhood is bright with beautiful Magnolias in blossom again. I tried hard to ignore them and find something else, but I find their strong, but everso delicate pink petals fascinating, standing proud and striking whether it’s against bright blue or cloudy grey skies.
I couldn’t wait while I planned and drew preliminary sketches. Last year’s picture, which was so carefully outlined and layered in with individual glazes, would have driven me up the wall today. So in the guise of experimenting with brush strokes and colours I just jumped straight in with a big piece of white paper, Rose Madder, Quinacridone Magenta, Pthalo Blue and a no. 10 Sable brush. I would say there’s lots of potential here for either something spontaneously lovely, or some big lessons in thinking before acting – and hopefully some fun on the way 🙂 .