Watercolor Progress #1

 I've decided to pursue watercolor's in specific Lethbridge locations. Using my car as a portable studio, I drive around until something catches my eye. All images are 11" x 15". I began with this first piece on a whiteout day in Riverstone. 

At this point I was applying the paint directly, just trying to display was I was seeing. Definitely still figuring out how to apply the watercolor in a way I am satisfied with. I remember being very distracted by what people were doing around me, worried that someone would be annoyed that I was camped out there. I always park in a spot that isn't directly in front of someone's house so I won't inconvenience them. 

This next painting was of a school on the west side, continuing with my previous techniques. 

Still unsure of how to get harder edges and a nice saturation I tried again, this time zooming in so I wouldn't have to worry about too much detail. 

Still feeling dissatisfied I became impatient and the next day I created these two "failures" but realized two important techniques I need to utilize. 

The first technique is reminding myself the proper rules for perspective. While I'm not overly worried that the perspective is completely accurate, I do want to give the feeling of a 3-dimensional space. 

Second, I figured out that the painting needs to be done in blocks, working on wet areas to add blurry shadows and dry areas to paint sharp edges. I know, it sounds simple, but working with this material does not feel intuitive for me. 

This is what I came up with. I made up a perspective here that doesn't really follow proportional rules totally but I think it is way more interesting to look at! The reference for this image was picked up from google maps- which is what I've been doing if I don't have access to my car (or it won't start because of weather). 

The car feels a little cramped sometimes but I like the mobility a lot!

Leave a comment if anything pops into your head! 😄