This years holiday was in the north of France in a surprisingly beautiful area called the Cote d'Opale. Just north of St-Omer is a maze of rivers and channels where the locals have small holdings to grow veggies. We hired a small boat and explored them for a few hours.

I was attracted to the deep reflection of the weeping willow and the play of light on the river. This is based on the photo I took. The main green pigments are viridian and cob. turquiose with lavender to push it back and windsor yellow to bring it forward. Lots of paynes grey (blueish tint) and neutral tint as well. Neutral tint really is a marvel.

I did the sky (crossed legs) then the reflections (nerve racking!!), then the tree (leap of faith), then the banks (just see what happens). I have found using white gouache for highlights on leaves far nicer than titanium white as it doesn't sit on the surface so much.