Try, try and try again - don't give up !

I've been painting away still, working on the bud paintings for my RHS project.

It has been quite satisfying recently as the majority of the paintings are nearing completion.  Seeing how they look as an exhibit as well as individually, certainly gives a feeling of everything coming together.

Early on in the project studying the Hazel bud and female flower.

At this time when you see them as a whole it is good to really look and evaluate how they look together.  Yes, they have their individual colour range for each tree species, but also you need to make sure that there is harmony and consistency between each one.

It was during one of these evaluations that I realised the Hazel bud was just not working, yes the one that I had already painted 3 times !!  No matter how much planning you put into the individual paintings and the exhibit, things can still go wrong towards the end.

The dreaded Hazel bud and the terrible bundle scar - it wasn't quite finished at this stage.

Take it as a complete learning experience.  I was surprisingly calm reaching this last decision about the Hazel.  You may wonder why I didn't just leave it out if it was causing so many problems, well it is one of the dominant species in the ancient hedgerows, so it has to be included as far as I am concerned.

Where the first 3 paintings had been of the same composition, this time I completely changed it.

I've worked on it all weekend and I am finally satisfied with how it looks and how it fits into the exhibit.

The new Hazel bud - work in progress.

So the advice I give is stay determined and never give up - try, try and try again.  You'll be a better artist because of it.

In the meantime, the other buds that have been completed are the Wayfaring tree and Ash.  I thought the Wayfaring tree was going to be the most challenging, but to date this is the one that I enjoyed painting the most.

The Wayfaring tree - very 'downy' buds

A whole range of blacks used to paint the Ash bud.

On another note, the Natures Details courses are receiving bookings, so if you fancy a bit of botanical art - Spring & Summer Flowers; sketching live owls; painting a Hazel Dormouse; illustrating butterflies and moths and exploring colours of the seashore, then there may be something for you !

For more information visit the website:

http://www.natures-details.com/naturesdetailscourses.html