Untitled, Unlimited

So here we are - the final stages of my painting through to the finished result......

The main tree trunk was done fairly quickly, but then it was onto the foliage which turned out to be a labour of love...

So near and yet so far! I started to get a bit bored by this stage...it took a great deal of patience and I wasn't happy with the weeping willow fronds so I found myself repainting parts of them over and over again until I was eventually happy with them...

Can you see the hidden owls?

I had no idea what I was going to paint in the left hand corner.

After a few nights of shutting my eyes to see nothing but weeping willow fronds and even dreaming about painting willow fronds, I suddenly experienced a big leap in painting speed and enthusiasm and I was finally able to complete the tree - what a relief!

With the tree complete, I knew I was only a days worth of work away from finishing the whole picture. When I get this close to finishing a painting, I get extremely agitated if anything or anyone gets in my way of finishing it. I'm always on top of my housework, but at this point it all goes out the window. My kids are told to make their own sandwiches and my husband is left with the chores! All I can focus on is finally finishing what has been several months in the making. Fortunately, we had no commitments, my family gave me a wide birth and I was left to finish my painting in peace.

The final stages moved very quickly and before I knew it, I was finished!

And here it is...

I took great delight in adding the squirrel, the hidden faces in the tree trunk and of course, my little icon, the bluetit. I also added some glitter and Swarovski crystals in the portal (although you probably can't see them in this photo).

I have to say that I think this could be my favourite painting of all time. The Tiger has sat at the top of my leaderboard since 2014 but I think this one just might knock him off his pedestal!

For now this piece remains untitled. I have a working title for it which is "Beyond" but it feels that this painting is asking to be left unlabelled and therefore unshackled, at least for a little while longer.

Of course, eventually, I shall mediate with it, find its 3 essence words and no doubt write a poem about it...but for now, I shall simply enjoy its silent presence and I hope you will too!

ps, in case you were wandering how big it is, it is actually one of the biggest paintings I've done at 90cm x 90cm.