I really have no idea where the time’s going at the moment so I hope you’ll forgive me if I dive straight in with this week’s watercolour painting:
This was an odd one in so many ways! I painted it in a bit of a hurry and I ended up painting different parts of it in completely the wrong order. This meant that I spent half my time trying to recover or invariably rescue it from having painted it in a slightly back to front order!
It’s not necessarily disastrous, but I do like the view and think I could do it greater justice than I managed on this occasion. I like the overall simplification of the scene, for instance the buildings on the left, where I debated whether to suggest the hundreds of windows, before opting to leave them as just simple silhouettes, however I feel that I really flunked other key elements!
I’ve already mentally committed myself to painting this again but, next time, to do it in the ‘right order’.
Recent sketches
I’ve been trying to keep up with my sketchbook and am still really enjoying it! Here’re are a few of my recent efforts:
I do like the freedom of working in my sketchbook. Yes it can be a bit hit and miss, but in every one, I feel like I’m learning a little more, stretching myself just a little, sketch by sketch!
10 thoughts on “New York watercolour painting”
very beautiful
Thanks so much for this, so pleased that you like it and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Hi John,
Not the least bit disastrous at all. In fact I really like it! You have always been good at not shying away from strong darks, as is true in this case.
Also you of course have strong light areas too which look wonderful. I think I might have hinted at the left side windows but the building looks fine as it is.
Have a good week,
Carole 😀
Hi Carole and thanks so much for this – this is all really encouraging and much appreciated! I’ll see about those windows in my next attempt!
Beautiful painting, John. Not sure if there is a ‘right order’ is there? I mean, each painting and the order you paint it in is dictated by the subject, I guess. Is that what you mean with regard to this painting? All this light to dark business can be misleading, although in a good many cases I guess it follows (exception: Marc Folly).
Hi David and yes, your’re right! I think in this case it was a bit of the darks going in too early before I’d finished the middle values, so I then had to glaze some of these in and in some cases risk the darks bleeding. I think that as we all improve, we learn to copy with these slight setbacks better and better, so that what once may have been fatal for a painting is now much more recoverable! Marc Folly is excellent (but sadly I don’t think I share his level of patience!)
Incredible! I love the immediacy of water color.
Thanks so mcuh for this and yes, I think it’s immediacy is one of watercolour’s greatest appeals for me too! I think it’s because I’m far too impatient to labour over a painting for weeks – or – to be honest, even days or hours!
Keep up the great work
I’ll try! thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment!