Arbutus unedo

This is a Strawberry tree, a native to the Mediterranean and to some areas of Southern Ireland. In England they occur as deliberately planted specimens and are quite rare. The fruit is similar in appearance to that of a strawberry but is unpalatable.

The bark is spectacular - red, maroon, purple with a bluey sheen - just ripe for painting.

This particular example is at Grey's Court, near Henley.

Work is still to be done.

A bull defined

This is pretty much the finished piece.

The trouble with oils is that I don't keep at it every day or even every week so the paints on my palette dry out and it's quite difficult to match the exact mix next time. 

The very dark curving streak of shade on the upper fore leg is too strong and I may not be able to match the creamy pinky surrounding coat around it so I leave it ......

I always wondered why artist's studios portrayed on tv always showed loads of unfinished paintings leaning against the walls - now I know.