My latest painting is developing slowly. I’m trying to add focus with every step… but it’s not easy! I also somehow don’t paint what I really want: when I’m lying in bed or cycling to work I think of the nicest things, but when I sit at my desk to paint, it somehow slips away.
Yesterday I painted some flowers. I just started and it gradually developed. I added a background of hills, and then the water came in. The perspective is interesting, it’s as if you’re lying in the grass, looking ahead. I like the clouds and the water, and I kind of like the painting as a whole, but it’s quite empty, and the way I use the space is a bit awkward. So today I continued to see if I could put some more focus in.
I added an extra hill and started working on a road surrounded by trees. It lead up the hill, so I thought I needed to add something on the hill where it would lead. A castle, of course! The lines are a bit more interesting now. I also worked on getting more of a gradual colour change towards the distance.
I’m still thinking about how to improve the painting, because it’s still quite empty. Perhaps I should add a forest to the hill where the road is running? Or a waterfall falling down from the castle hill? Or another bit of road in the distance where a caravan of people is riding with their cargo? I also want to put in a cat somewhere.
The thing with watercolour is that it’s kind of transparant, so adding layers only works from light to dark, and you can see through the layers. You have to think carefully about what you put where and what colours work together. Adding extra elements can spoil the painting or enhance it. Difficult choice…
Maybe I should just leave it like this…
