Sometimes I encounter subjects multiple times before I act on them. Like this hawthorn bush, I walked past it quite a few times and registered it at the back of my mind as something that needs to be painted, only to act on it at a later stage. This is a bit of a subconscious process, though, and it seems that my mind recognizes a potential painting, but the idea isn’t mature enough, and it first needs to grow a bit more. It senses the seed of an idea. When this happens, I let my subconscious deal with it, and I can’t really say how long it will take for me to really take action, but when the day is there, I will know it.
This particular hawthorn bush grows in a nature reserve that I visit quite often. It is especially attractive in the spring because it has some fields with grasses and flowers that really come to life at that time. The sandy path you see in the background is basically the first thing I encounter, so each time I visit the place, I pass by this bush. Normally it is not so remarkable, but when it starts blossoming with white flowers, it is just absolutely stunning. And then finally, after a few weeks of blooming, on a very warm afternoon in May, it felt right to face it and portray it.
