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Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park watercolour 11x14 (c) Tessa Spanton
This painting was commissioned as a wedding present. The proposal had taken place in the Isabella plantation and the couple are shown in the painting.
I have painted in this beautiful place and taken may photos there over the years. I first discovered it when I was teaching at White Lodge in Richmond Park. (The Royal Ballet school's lower school.)
In April and May bluebells, camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons put on a splendid show. Candelabra primulas grow by the streams and there are wafts of scent from some of the azaleas.
When I did the painting the bright colours had gone and the trees were bare. I went there to watch people strolling along the paths to help with placing the figures in the painting.
It was a pleasure doing a painting of this lovely place to mark such an important milestone in this couple's life.