Gate, Daisy Nook Country Park2 by Stephen Slater

Beautifully done, Stephen. The colours have that freshness that spring brings, and your painting makes me want to go out for a walk, right now....except here the sun isn't shining.

Agreed, lovely work Stephen, I have just been out for a walk with my Labrador dog Rosie, the sun is out here but a cool breeze

really inviting and so fresh - oh to be in England now that April's here - who is April?

Beautiful zingy yellow-greens of Spring, Stephen, and nice light and dark to the tree trunks too. I have very little idea how to tackle this sort of thing so I hope you don't mind a comment, but to my eye the bank on the right could maybe do with a bit of variatio - it just looks a little bit flat to me - also, maybe it needs to be a bit lighter as wouldn't the sun be shining on it?

Many thanks everyone for your kind comments. Caroline, I think you are right in what you say about the right hand bank. I changed the weather quite a bit from my photo, there was no clear shadows, so i imagined the light to come from the left, leaving the fairly dark bank (which had a lot of brown leaves, left over from Autumn). Lots to think about when you start 'tinkering' with a scene!

Beautifully full of the light of the promise of Spring. Love the fresh greens.

Many thanks once again Thea, for your kind remarks.

A nice tranquil scene which you capture well. A pleasant place to go for a walk.

Thanks for your comments Mark, it is a lovely country park. The path is actually a bridle path, so I kept my eye out for any gallopping steeds while I took the photo!

Stephen, thanks so much for your kind comments on my 'Willow and Boat' from Geoff Kerseys book! I like his work too, but I tend towards more detail than he, I think. It has been good practice for me...especially the washes...getting the wetness just right. What did you think of his classes? So, this piece of yours is Inktense? Is it pencils or sticks? I just got the pencils and did the '3 Ladies' butterflies piece with them. I really like them as a medium...what do you think of them? By the looks of your paintings, you are using them very successfully!

Thanks once again Cheryl, I used the sticks for this painting. I really like them, very similar to watercolour but you can overlay them without producing the freaded mud! I also 'cheat' sometimes and add them to a watercolour, if it's gone a bit dull ( but don't tell any one)! Geoff Kersey is a really encouraging teacher and a very nice guy, which helps. One thing that struck me, is that he he very particular when he mixes colours, to get the right shade and strength, I often rush that and pay the penalty.