Fun Times in Febrrrrrrrrrruary!

We had a low of 14 degrees in the wee hours of the morning yesterday here in South Carolina.  One of our doggies refused to go outside except for very serious business.  The other two managed a few runs around the yard when the sun was at it's brightest.  I'm not complaining.  I have friends in MA where the snow is over their heads.  However, I'm really not used to wearing so many layers of clothes inside, and it's drafty painting in my favorite spot (breakfast room) because of all the windows.  I end up hiding out in my office and playing on my computer. . . Good time to update my blog.

Wanted to share the web site of a terrific watercolorist: Marney Ward. . . I long to be able to capture the light as she does with her beautiful floral paintings.  Please click around her pages and enjoy.  http://www.marneyward.com/

I'm getting back into the swing of regular painting again.  Being able to see better has eased my frustration big time.  Here's my first barn, a subject matter that's a favorite among painters.

And here it was the 1st time I thought I was finished with it .

Same red barn but I felt it was just sitting there with no story.  Just a barn.  It also seemed out of balance somehow.  So I added some pale yellow on the horizon and put in a cold winter cloud.  I also increased the shadow on the snow at the bottom left.  What do you think?  Does it have a little more to say now? 

I also started another barn.  This one is a little warmer to look at although not as well cared for. Hope to get back to it today and finish. 

And, I must confess that I also attempted to paint a big wet on wet colorful stormy sky based on the style and technique of a painter who shared it all on a "You can do this too, don't I make it look easy?" YouTube video.  Timing and skill is everything when trying to paint like this.  Obviously my timing was off and my skill was lacking because my paint looks like mud in the sky.  

I'll give it another try at a later date.  I was way out of my comfort zone painting freely with no drawing.  It was still fun, but it would have been even better if my painting had turned out the way I envisioned it.  Such is life!