Following a wonderful demonstration by Chris Forsey (chrisforsey.com) a couple of weeks ago we were all challenged to paint our own ‘Foresy’ the following week. I really liked the way he used his varnish brushes and bought a 1″ and 2″ from Rosemary & Co, (www.rosemaryandco.com) – a fantastic source of high quality brushes.

Chris uses the 1 inch brush almost continually and I wanted to see if I could replicate some of the washes and marks he made. I especially wanted to try out trees in the distance and water.

I found a photo of Bosham as it provides a lovely variety of boat, buildings, water and trees. I sketched the scene and tried a couple of compositions, finishing with the image below. I started the actual painting during the club challenge and finished it at home.

I’m unhappy with the spire, trees and buildings. They are all too heavy handed. The boat, sky and water are okay but the composition is still not right. More reference work needed to understand how I can improve overall.