Before I even thought about creating this blog I was well into this painting. For those of you reading this who aren't familiar with New Zealand, Wanaka is a small town in Central Otago.
It is a popular skiing spot in Winter and camping destination in Summer. An alternative to Queenstown which is super busy, Wanaka has a more laid back feel. I spent the first year of my life here and although I can't remember that time I do have many memories of holidays spent by the lake as a child and partying with friends as a teenager. More recently I have visited with my family where we have hung out by the lake front skimming stones, eating pizza, skiing and generally reliving childhood memories. While there I took photos of my favourite spots and decided to work them into a painting.
I knew that I wanted to work again with my 'younger self' so that was a good starting point. Wanaka to me is big skies, incredible landscapes, the lake and ducks. I may work the later into this piece. This is still a work in progress...close but not finished. I feel like it needs something else. Also I need to add a few more layers to the hands, hat and cuffs. I chose a natural palette to begin with. The blue of her dress was originally muted green but it looked kinda blah so I messed around with various colours and eventually I landed on blue. The hat also went through its own metamorphosis going from brown to red to lavender. This is what happens when not enough time is spent on choosing the right palette at the beginning. In some ways I like working like this ...making changes as the painting develops but it can be both time consuming and frustrating.
