The Elusive Garden

As artists so often we create our own inner garden of observation creating areas that are visible which we ‘allow in’ and other areas that we have ‘walled off’ or we choose to ignore. If we are aware of this when we approach a subject as a painter we can decide what we want to filter into the painting and make visible and what we want to leave out. I chose a brief on our last day of the painting holiday to choose which elements to ‘filter in’ and which to ‘leave out’. I selected different trees such an orange tree, olive tree and Cyprus and encouraged a use of a dialogue of marks and a vibrant colour palette. It is challenging to see them in this way as they become elusive to us when we take for granted how often we see them in the background. I used acrylic for this session and arm keen to explore this series in watercolour. It’s wonderful to take the original paintings back home and further develop them into a garden series. I continue to enjoy exploring the beautiful grounds of the Little Alhambra, our venue for the week. Click here to book on one of our Creative Getaways holidays.