Over the summer I started a painting that was, well, rather difficult for me as it involved a lot of complicated swerves and precise paint-brush control. It is inspired by a wallpaper design from the 30s.

After having penciled out the initial curves I was so fed up with it that I left it for at least a month and painted something more free and colourful.

Then I came back to it in October and started adding the background colour. A neutral beige.

Then I started adding the background pattern; a kind of coral like structure.

Getting the symmetry at least looking right on the swerves had been so painful that I decided to make things easier on myself with the corals and actually trace and flip so as to speed things up.

 

Finding and then mixing the right shades of pinks and burgundy was also quite difficult as was brush control - or painting within the lines. Phew!

I hadn't initially thought it was going to be all pinks and burgundies but that's were it took me...

Here I am painting away one autumn day...

Nearly finished! I need to go over the white swerves again to make them pop and then touch up bits and do the sides...

What do you think?

I'll post the finished piece soon I hope...