This is the photo that I used to produce my painting.  This painting was quite an experiment for me, in that I was determined not to be totally constricted and distracted by the literal detail, but rather try to convey something of the deep feelings that I have for the place.  Also, this was the first time that I used a bold, very mono-tonal under-painting as a starting point.

This is a simulation of the under-painting that I did.  It is a simulation, as I didn't take a photo, but I think it is reasonably representative of what the actual under-painting looked like, and was a bit of an experiment.  It was the first time that I had used bold blocks of colour – both light and dark as an under-painting.

The under-painting has been modified by using dabs of both lights and darks to modify the boundaries and start to define some structure.  This was a challenge, as I discovered that I had to use a different colour in the light under-painted areas as compared to the dark under-painted areas, to achieve the same appearance.

All the details have been painted in, including deep purples in the shadowed areas, and splashes of red in the green areas.  This has brought what could otherwise be a pretty boring painting to life, I think.

I enjoy the complex interplay of colour, especially when a lot of quite vivid and unrealistic colours are used in close proximity to give an overall lively impression of a realistic colour. This was probably the first time that I consciously worked at achieving this approach.