More experimenting with knife and roller – and moments of glee when something interesting happens. Working on this painting it sometimes felt like Uncle Claude was perched on my shoulder. Monet’s waterlily paintings, especially the late ones with their ropy paint, are related to “Pondly Thoughts”. I think Monet would have loved working with the roller, discovering more ways to layer. We certainly share an affinity with water and its mutability. Monet had his garden and pond, I have my swamp. Two artists happy as larks. Details below. Enjoy.

Technical painting notes: I started with a rolled dark layer, working toward the light in successive brushed and rolled layers. Glazes modelled the color. I used brushwork to define some of the negative, light areas, then rolled them to soften the edges and spread the color. Knife work focused the leaves, which were overpainted and rolled to create mysterious shapes under the over-rolled surface. A little spatter, some scraping, more glazing, etc. Eventually it seemed to reach a balance that spoke to describing the pond and its environment while keeping to my new motto of interesting paint!