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More sky! It’s taking longer than I thought, but that’s okay. I’m not complaining. Really. I do love watching how this is turning out.

And I’m having a heck of a time taking these wip photos – it’s so big (did I already mention that? – lol) that there’s no getting away from the glare. Once it’s done and hubby does his magic with his slr camera I will have a lovely photo.

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Yay, the sky. I’m pulling some of the same colours that are in the lake and filling the sky with clouds and movement.

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We now interrupt the pursuit of the sky to bring you the trees from far far away…

Just starting to show the fall colours to come, the trees are a subdued (for me) mix of grey-green, mauve and muted peach.

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I’ve added some more of the orange weeds to the left – a drastic change that was not part of the original plan. But I’m glad I deviated.

Sometimes I can’t get the paint on the panel fast enough – I know exactly what to do and curse my slow clumsy fingers and my tiny brush. But sometimes when I’m stuck or in an important transitional area (like the foreground plants meeting the the trees way in the back), I find that if I sit and stare at my painting long enough, it tells me what to do next. Which is awfully nice…

Originally there were to be some intermediary trees between the foreground weeds/flowers and the trees at the very back. But I decided that really served no purpose and the painting would be better if I could echo some of the brighter flowers that are on the right side. And cradle them in the darker red purple ones. And also echo the dark plants and how they meet the water, with the dark plants and how they meet the sky.

And yes! There is now some sky on the panel – woot!

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Not a lot of the drastic changes are actually visible yet – they are still swimming around in my head. But still, I did get a fair bit done.

Next up I have to integrate some more of the foreground with that land across the lake – tricksy but fun!

I love love love the huge range of colours in this painting. In the beginning it was a little overwhelming and I questioned whether I would be able to get them to play nicely together. Now I’m only a little worried  – I still need to see that sky!

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Not completely following protocol  – lol. But I just couldn’t wait any longer! I really wanted to see what the area beyond the lake looks like. I feel much better now.

But I will have to go back to the foreground before I get to the trees and sky. And I’ve decided to make some drastic changes to the last of the front foliage – so I’d better get to it before I lose my nerve.

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Ooh I hit one of the other edges – always a milestone for me.

I’ve got a bit more of these dark plants to do, but really I’m dreaming of clouds and the far shore…

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I’ve been painting for five days in a row. Unheard of! I’m going to try to post a wip every two days or so, although I really don’t want to stop long enough to post – lol. I’m having some trouble with glare in my photos too – I think just a side effect of the size.

So a little more progress on the foreground weeds this time… I love putting the brighter greens against the purples and reds. I’ve got lots more purple and red to go, and I want to echo the lighter plants that are on the far right too. Yum.

Busman’s Holiday – yay!

The wips will be coming fast and furious over the next two weeks as I am on holiday in my studio, with nothing but painting and the occasional nap in store for me. My master plan is to actually finish this painting before my holiday ends! No pressure!

I want to keep on with the foreground stuff, but I’m also really curious about some of the trees in the background, so I may jump around the painting a little. And the fluffy clouds too, I want to see them!

Back to the dark side for this session. Slowly filling in the foreground. Soon I will hit another patch of greenery. And also the light will hit the top of these darks a bit. That will be fun.

Did I mention it’s really big?