STAGE SEVEN

Part of my fascination with the subject is the three planes: real life, the reflected life and the surface tension that lies between the two. The point where the water meets the tree is lighter as I’m painting the surface of the water not the reflection of the tree. So, I added this next, scooping up a blob of the lighter dark with my silicon bowl scraper and smearing it across to follow the angle of the canal bank. I then went back into the tree and reflections with my darkest dark, an intense carbon black oil bar pigment stick. This is pure oil colour with no cold wax so will take longer to dry but as it’s the final layer it doesn’t matter and works well to give the tree form and remind me of the intensity of the shadows in the water