Summer Hops...

Back in August I spotted a view of the hops growing on our pergola against a bright blue sky that made me want to paint them - the contrasting colours just sang.  My first attempt was in watercolour and I soon became discouraged - I'd chosen paper that was too small and consequently the drawing was a nightmare, and the subsequent painting was tight and fiddly and just frustrating to do.

So I ditched that one, and started a much bigger painting in acrylics on canvas board.  I didn't bog myself down with a highly detailed drawing - in fact I started by just painting the pergola against the sky, nothing on it at all.   Then I just loosely marked in the shapes of the hops and let the paintbrush do the work as I went along.

As Autumn kicked in and the light began to fail, I was working under electric light a lot of the time which really changes the colours, so had to check occasionally that I was getting them right by taking the painting outside for a look. Thankfully everything was OK!

This was quite a departure from my usual subjects, but enjoyable nonetheless and was a welcome distraction from reality!  It is currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

Next up...not sure, but it will be in watercolours and splashy!