Very close to our home - on walking distance - is a small forest area with an old orchard in it. There are apple, pear and plum trees and some walnut trees as well. The trees are tall and have to be climbed to get to the fruits in autumn, modern orchards have small trees so the fruits can be harvested while standing on the ground.
We think this small orchard once belonged to a farm of which the owners have changed their business and sold the land to 'Staatsbosbeheer' - the Dutch institute for forest management (and protection).
A few weeks ago the trees were beautiful with white blossoms and of course some pictures were made.
For my watercolour painting I wanted a soft atmosphere, with light colours as background to the delicate white flowers.
The white of the flowers was left open, no masking used and the background was made in only one layer. In fact I was prepared to do more, but after the first layer was dry I was happy with the result and I also didn't feel the need to add more colour after the flowers were painted.
For the flowers I used shadow colours in the petals and the yellow, grey and red colours of the hearts were added after the petals had dried.
Some green leaves were added and the painting was just what I hoped it would be.
The details about size, colours and paper used are in the link at my website.
Contact information is also at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
