Kauri bark and sea bed patterns

A hike down the hillside through the small kauri grove on the island was the starting point for this painting sketch; the bark on the kauri tree has a distinctive shapes and walking through the bush in the midday sun sharpens the perception of pattern as the sun filters through the different exotic leaf shapes.

I'd arrived back at the beach apartment with a pocket full of leaves and bark to help with colour matching but after an afternoon on the kayak and swimming out in the clear waters of the bay I added the colours and patterning of the sea and the sea bed.