One morning in summer, I spent some time sketching a pohutukawa by Lake Rotomanu which is in Fitzroy (New Plymouth).  I did a pencil sketch and also took a photo of the scene.  I was there with two other ladies, and they painted a water colour of the same scene.  It was a lovely time being with other creative people.  A couple of months later I was flicking through some of my photos and came across this scene and decided to paint it.  There is a bit of ‘creative licence’ used as the lake edge is very simplified.  I really like the look of Pohutukawa trees; they are all unique as their limbs go in all sorts of directions which gives a great challenge when trying to replicate it in an artwork or sketch.