With the groundcover in place, it was obvious that before I could proceed any further I would need to install the backdrop – as I couldn’t add scrub brush and trees without it. I had every intention of painting the backdrop, but as I was surfing the web for reference images it dawned on me that I might be able to print a suitable backdrop – which would save me a great deal of time and effort…

I found a very nice image of rolling farm fields with a smattering of autumn trees that looked like a good fit for Pete’s Pumpkins; however, the image was far too small to create a decent print. Rather than search for a higher resolution image, I elected to apply a few Photoshop filters to the image to give it a more ‘painterly’ look. The end result wasn’t sharp but suggested the scene very suitably. After trimming the printout and eyeing the results, I decided that while the backdrop helped the model immensely –the colour wasn’t right. I discarded the print, resolving to correct the colours to more closely match the foreground scenery.