Prepping and Painting

 

July I
original watercolour by Teresa Newham

My focus this July has been preparing for #HertsOpenStudios, which will run from 18th September to 10th October.  There have, however, been days when it has simply been too hot for framing or other prep; and that's when I turned to watercolour.

inspiration from my garden
© Teresa Newham

The flowers in my garden have been wonderful this Summer, thanks to abundant rain and hot sun.  The bright geraniums, lavender and marigolds prompted me to make some small July salt paintings.  It was worth playing about a bit with colours first, as not all the ones I thought I needed made the cut:

choosing colours 
© Teresa Newham

The thing about a salt painting is that you can't make it all at once - you lay down some washes, add the salt, and walk away until everything is completely dry.  I left these two overnight, although in the heat they were workable within a few hours.

salt working its magic on the initial washes
© Teresa Newham

As I built up the layers I experimented with ideas on the right hand piece and refined them on the left.  As usual, I now have one painting I like more than the other - the left hand one in this case, although it doesn't always work out like that.

July I and July II, finished, but still taped to the board
© Teresa Newham

A few days later, the cooler weather returned and I went back to my framing. I couldn't resist putting the new July painting into a frame to see how it looked. That's another piece for Open Studios!

July I - framed and ready to go
© Teresa Newham