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| Autumn on the Common watercolour sketch by Teresa Newham |
I took lots of photos of Harpenden Common last Autumn, but none of them felt quite right to use for a painting: the ones from my favourite vantage point were too dull and the ones with the right colour and light were of a view I don't usually paint. But it seemed a shame to waste them.
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| the source photo in the "wrong" place © Teresa Newham |
By January I needed to get something down on paper, so I began a watercolour anyway - and it was a real struggle. I laboured over various layers, each one of which complicated matters. Eventually I was forced to admit I'd taken a wrong turn and began berating myself for wasting my time . . .
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| the time I wasted making this © Teresa Newham |
Having binned my first attempt, I was so cross with myself that almost without thinking I laid down some washes on a new piece of paper, picked up a small flat brush and started blocking in the bushes and trees. Encouraged, I added grass and some shadows. The result was this lively sketch. It pays not to think too much!
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| the sketch I made instead © Teresa Newham |
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