I will start this written piece by posting the finished painting and then I will go through my thoughts and reflections on its creation and outcome.

This painting is very much a follow on from Exercise 1.3 ‘The mirror as a stage’. The subject of reflections has been a line of investigation for me for some time. I have made a series of paintings, going back to the start of my previous OCA course ‘ Concepts in Practice’ which explore the reflective qualities of water, particularly in the landscape. My investigations have explored both the mirror aspect of bodies of water and the act of looking into water. It’s ability to be looked through and to reflect back at one and the same time. For this particular painting I wanted to make use of a small series of photographs I took earlier in the year. They focus on part of a Fenland drain that is usually hidden from view. The photographs were taken in early spring before the foliage obscures the view. The water at this part of the drain also dries up and the reflective qualities disappear.

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There is considerable information in the photographs which I would need to edit in order to try to convey the subject in a clear way. This started by making an edit of one of the photographs which would then become the template for the composition.

A quick sketch was made before I embarked upon the painting.

At this stage I was stuck in two minds as to how to approach the painting. I had a number of different outcomes in mind ranging from a painting that was more abstract in nature to a more pictorial one. It was during the initial laying down of acrylic paint for the underpainting that I stopped when I realised that I had a loose painting that encapsulated much of what I had envisaged as a potential abstraction. This became a work in itself.

What I enjoy about this painting is the way in which the light, yellow and green, on both the banks behind the trees and the white reflected on the water contrast with the dark shadows. The trees themselves are crudely suggested by vigorous lines dragged through the background paint with a loaded brush but appear believable.

I started again, this time I would not stop at the underpainting, it wasn’t as good. It had many of the qualities of the first painting but lacked something.

The second, completed painting which I used to open this blog, is a more focussed painting. It is also more pictorial in intent and outcome whilst taking some liberty with the colour palette which makes it less naturalistic. The temptation to overwork it and potentially lose some of its vitality was strong.

Whilst being content with the outcome I feel that I still have more to do before I feel satisfied within myself with this style of work. There are elements of my practice that I am trying to resolve. This will take time and practice and will evolve.

I have discovered a dilemma with this painting in that whilst editing the photograph, rotating the image, it struck me that the painting also looks good upside down. In fact it takes on different qualities. It has more depth as the what is the water now becomes a receding landscape. I am not entirely convinced. I will live with it hung this way for a few days and make a final decision.

This has become my preferred way of displaying this painting. The positive feedback that I received was that it had the appearance of exposed roots at waters edge. The reflected light in the water becomes a receding skyline. There is a sense of desolation a barren landscape beyond the trees. A foreboding gloom in the sky as day moves into night.

• Part 3