Asters revisited

Asters (revisited)
original watercolour by Teresa Newham

Following the successful revamp of my Hyacinths painting, I turned my attention to Asters.  This is a favourite of mine, made as a demo at Open Studios a few years back, and I didn't want to alter it drastically; I wondered if simply remounting it would do:

trying the original version in a new mount
© Teresa Newham

I came to the conclusion that something more was needed.  The background looked distinctly wishy-washy and there was too much yellow; so I removed as much of the original colour as I could and strengthened the background with Permanent Sap Green and Permanent Alizarin.

playing with the background
© Teresa Newham

This worked well; I re-did the flowers with Permanent Alizarin, and they started to sing against the green.  The leaves and stems were going to need similar treatment.

bringing out the flowers
© Teresa Newham

The end result in the new mount looks subtly different to the original - so subtle that I sometimes have trouble telling photos of the two apart.  Which means I haven't ruined one of my favourite paintings!

the revamped painting
© Teresa Newham

looking forward, looking back

February is turning out to be a month of forward planning as far as my creative side is concerned.  In the space of one week I found myself filling out forms for the Open Exhibition at Luton Hoo Walled Garden and this year's Art on the Common, and hosting a meeting for those of us hoping to exhibit at Artscape in Harpenden for Herts Open Studios 2013.  Much of it seems a long way off; but time for creative pursuits has proven scarce so far this year so I've started thinking about possible exhibits already. As always when time is tight, I've gone back over my photo albums; last October's visit to Kerry has proved a rich source of inspiration. We were staying right on the harbour at Portmagee, and took a stroll on the quayside early one morning when the tide had just gone out:

 

 

seaweed, Portmagee harbour

Kerry offers the most spectacular views, and it's easy to forget that there are plenty of smaller delights right under your nose if you care to look, such as this little plant growing in a crevice of rock on Valentia Island:

rock plant, Valentia

Back in Portmagee Harbour I indulged my particular obsession with the wooden crates which the fishermen use to catch lobster.  They have wonderful colour and texture both when wet and dry, and are festooned with ropes which also hold a particular fascination for me:

 

old rope, Portmagee harbour

As well as working on some exhibits involving rope, plants and seaweed, I'm also putting aside images which are suitable for cards, such as the one below.  I like this one so much that I've hung it in my cloakroom, which has a Kerry seashore theme to it:

the sign of the cross on the foreshore at Kilkeaveragh

So at the moment I'm looking forward to September by looking back to last October, keeping the memories alive and the creative juices ticking over at the same time!