Mavora Lakes

I started this painting in 2004 in the Wanganui CES evening painting classes with Rowan Gardner. (Oil on canvas board, 910mm x 610mm.)

	This is the photograph on which the following paintings were based. Although I have tried to portray the scene accurately enough for a "local" to be able to recognise it, I deliberately made small changes in the sky, water and hills in an effort to accentuate the feeling of peace and tranquility that I felt there that day.
	This was an early "colour sketch" that I did on textured paper. It was deliberately quite rough, but served the purpose of allowing me to get the feel of the painting, particularly with regard to the colours I would use.
	This was how the painting looked at the start of 2005. The sky and distant mountains are pretty much as they appear in the final completed painting. You can see the roughly sketched under-painting quite clearly in the foreground, where I have not yet started work. I like to do a rough under-painting to give form to work to, and to take the whiteness of the canvas away over its entire surface. I tend to use mid-tones and then add lighter and darker details to finish.
	During 2005, I made some slow progress and completed finishing touches to the hills, forest and tussock in the middle ground. I added some detail towards the foreground, but some of it really isn't working. This has been addressed recently.
	Final result soon to be posted.