Nénuphars

I have a couple of pictures of water lilies I took at the botanic gardens a few weeks ago, and I was planning to paint them, but I realise now that their shape will not work in a painting - they're too curled up, and the open ones were not in a composition that's pleasing to the eye - I know, I know, I can re-arrange them in the painting. Then, I came upon a photo I took in Airfield before they were closed for their renovation project. It popped up on our photoframe, amongst 500 other photos - What are the chances?? The water itself is a bit dull, but I have no problem jazzing it up.

So I've been playing with colours and composition and textures - we're not there yet, but there is nothing I love more than planning a painting - often my sketches and colour samples are better than the final product, and I enjoy the process so much.

So here is where I am right now. This is a little thumbnail done in one of my sketchbooks - I need to paint the water lilies a touch greener I think. And I need to decide if I'm going to go for high texture or clear washes. I'm leaning towards textures right now - heavily influenced that I am by one of Shirley Trevena's books - she never leaves much space with a plain wash. And the turquoise colour is inspired by her style too.

Aah, I just remember we have some good photos of a water lily pond in Sydney botanic gardens - I'm off to look for them now - I think they are on an external drive, with thousands of other photos. At least I remember what year we were there, so I should be able to narrow it down fairly quickly!