This is the third painting in my 'In the Beginning' series. It has stood up quite well and fortunately I have a good image of it to show you. Early in my painting career I spent so much time painting trees that I became known as ‘Treeman’ but I was and still am fascinated by the wonderful shapes and light patterns you find in woods and forests. Add some water for reflections and you have the perfect subject for watercolour. I can’t remember where this is but I did spend a lot of time in Cropton Forest at that time so that is the probable location. No matter - there’s a couple of interesting techniques in the painting – techniques that I still use today. Bit of masking fluid to start with of course - this is vital to keep the water line safe so I can be free with the washes. Now when you remove the mask at the end of the painting you are left with hard white shapes. Can you see how I softened the hard edges in the foreground by using a wet brush? As long as you have a bit of kitchen roll handy to dry immediately it works quite well. The background forest was just a mixture of yellow, red and blue to which I added some salt as it was drying. The salt absorbs the moisture around it creating these interesting shapes which look as natural as foliage. I am often asked when the right time to add the salt is. The answer is when it works! It really is a case of trial, error and experience because if you add it too soon it can absorb too much of the wet paint and if you add it too late….it has nothing to soak up. But keep having a go because when it works – it works. Some of the texture marks on the river bank were made with my fingers. It works on a similar process as the salt – the dry skin absorbs a bit of moisture and the whorls of your fingerprints are left on the paper. I think it just gives a very natural ‘look’ to the painting which I like.
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