My little sister turns 30!

Some months ago now, my brother-in-law Andy asked me if I would paint a picture for my sister Katie for her 30th Birthday in May this year. Of course I said yes. He said that as one of Katie's favourite paintings was "Red Woods", something utilising Autumnal colours and a 'tunnel effect' would be a good choice. We discussed several options and agreed that the above combination of birch trees and warm yellows and reds would be winning option (we hoped!) The picture was painted using a photograph as a starting point, but didn't have much of the 'tunnel' effect that Andy had asked for. I left the section towards the left hand side deliberately much lighter, to draw the eye into the background that gradually fades into the distance.

Katie titled the painting "Light at the End of the Tunnel". I thought that was perfect, and showed me that the tunnel element is obviously something that she has taken to :) From what I have heard, she is very happy with her present from her husband, and kindly sent me the above picture of it on her dining room wall to use on both my blog and facebook page.

As I often do, I used my phone to take pictures of the painting in progress for future reference - in this instance to keep Andy updated! Below are a few of them...