Near Farewell Spit, Golden Bay, these manuka trees cling to the hillside. The wind pours over the ridge and sculpts them into a tightly woven carpet entwined with threads of silvery branches .
I took that reference photo maybe 15 years ago and have puzzled ever since about how to paint it!
Yesterday I picked up a black drawing pen and began to sketch in the tortured trunks and branches, then I washed in watercolour and voila! Finally I managed to paint the scene as it had felt to me all those years ago.
Sometimes as an artist you need to reach for a new tool to express yourself in a different way from how you usually paint. I'm looking at trees with  renewed inspiration...

Last week I had a visit from the lovely Sue, accounts manager from Avon Framing. Sue was visiting Nelson framers and artists and drove up to the lake to spend time at my studio showing me some of the new framing products which Avon market. As we chatted she gave me some ideas for different types of presentation that she thought would suit my work.  
If you paint , sooner or later you'll probably paint something which you'd like to frame and it's good to know the options available.
For watercolour it's usual to frame under glass to protect the painting from damage. You can use a single mat (bottom right) or a double (bottom middle) which makes it a bit more "3D". I've also been playing with floating the paintings (bottom left) where a  deckled edge floats over the  mat - looks great for landscape paintings.
While I usually use a plain white or black frame I'm currently trying a delicious red one . Plainer profile mouldings seem to suit watercolour , maybe keep the ornate frames for your oil or acrylic.
Mats are usually best white - and shouldn't be lighter than the white parts of your painting (this really makes your work sparkle).
Framing style is  a personal choice but always make sure that your framer is using acid free archival materials, so that you don't end up with foxing (those nasty brown dots which can appear on the backs of old paintings).
So, once you've finished your painting , spend some time thinking about presentation , and what will give it the wow factor!