Paint Class

Wow, did I have fun today. And particularly since I should have been doing something more fiscally productive.

I have so much I want to say visually and I have a talent or at least a leaning in that direction but I am incredibly undisciplined and I am terribly lacking in technique. It is hard to break the rules until you know them - or use them to your advantage even. So I have gone back to school.

My weakest painting medium is watercolor. However I do have a perfectly good set of watercolors so I decided it was time to learn them properly. And hey, I have access to the whole world so why not take advantage of the learning opportunities that the web makes available - and for free for heaven's sake.

I decided for no good reason that I wanted to be able to paint a tree. Not necessarily the logical place to start but I am the one writing the syllabus so who cares? Pas mois. And those of you who have been feeling sorry for me because of my really bad paintings need not. I have had a great time and I am willing to keep at it through master status. And my little semi-private diary here will keep track of my progress.

A little exercise in shapes and color intensity/hue.
I actually really like the oaky one.

Experiment in distance and getting the effect of winter.
I am very heavy handed and the real challenge of watercolor for me is less is more. I have never properly created a snow effect and I suck at distances so I am ok with this quickie. I think it actually looks quite cold.

The composition is non-existent and the tree is so-so but I LOVE the shadow in the mid-foreground. Another thing I suck at - shadow and light. This is my favorite shadow ever.

We are having some fun now...