Watercolour presentation and ghosting

Here is the finished watercolour sketch of a bluebell wood. It is something of an experiment, playing around with ‘ghost shadows’ and light.

I often think about how to present a painting in a frame. Usually, we frame the work so all of it can be seen. Of course we have considered this when creating a painting. Some artists use viewing rectangles, something I do not. Perhaps the paper is taped to the board in order to create a clean edge. We seek balance, to create ’a feeling of a pleasing picture’. Here I have produced a simple watercolour of a bluebell woodland with a couple of local residents foraging. The painting is on 200 lb NOT. It is just slightly over half imperial ( 11x22 inch ). Using a mount for a smaller painting I have played around with presentation. In all of these a lot of the painting is hidden under the mount board. I like this. To look at a painting knowing that it hides part of the story. It will be discovered in time to come and perhaps warrant remounting. It is a secret. What lies beyond?  I have also experimented with trying to create a sense of the sun breaking through. These are the accompanying pictures. To achieve this I used masking tape to protect areas, clean water, a large brush and some kitchen tissue.

How to produce plein air landscapes, my latest book, available soon, email me for details.

Here, I have moved the mount board to just about include the pheasants, with a lot of upper tree detail and side detail hidden. Yet, I think it looks complete.

Here, the pheasants can still be seen though a lot of the left and top of the painting is hidden.

This arrangement looks balanced. But I guess it is a matter of taste.

Sunbeams added.

What do you think?