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| Cherry Blossom II mixed media watercolour by Teresa Newham |
The cold weather continued right to the end of March this year, with snow on the ground in the South of England barely a fortnight before Easter. The few blossoms which had dared to emerge on my neighbour's tree froze in the chilly wind.
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| this year's blossom © Teresa Newham |
The blossom is fully out now; perhaps not as spectacular as in some years, but still providing a welcome splash of colour as the gardens recover from what one of my friends described as "eternal winter".
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| the original Cherry Blossom watercolour © Teresa Newham |
That tree has inspired a couple of paintings in its time: last year it was a mixed media watercolour Flowering Cherry, and a couple of years before that a pen and wash called simply Cherry Blossom.
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| brightening up the background © Teresa Newham |
My favourite painting is always the next one, so when I do look back at my old work, I'm often pleasantly surprised. Not with Cherry Blossom, however - it's never felt quite right - and once Flowering Cherry was finished, I knew it needed a re-think.
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| emphasising the foreground © Teresa Newham |
This year I embarked upon whole series of renovated watercolours, of which Cherry Blossom II is the latest: washed off and reinvigorated with Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Sap Green and metallic copper ink, and remounted. And at last I can say I'm happy with it!
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| revitalised painting in new mount © Teresa Newham |
Really worthwhile exercise - each time you make a good painting subtly better!
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