I started this painting (8 x 11) last week and finished it late this afternoon. I chose the subject because I needed a self taught lesson in negative painting, something I really struggle with.
Nothing was drawn out, I just started painting, placing a yellow wash all over the paper. I then dropped in some of the beautiful new Quinacridone color paints I recently treated myself to - reds, and rusts, and umbers. Next I dropped in a bit of a terrific bright green. The task before me was to start painting around the colors to gradually create a tree branch with colorful fall leaves that had fallen into the water.
I had seen a photo of leaves floating in water and used it for inspiration, but after getting a feeling for what colors to use, I put the photo away. It's difficult to describe how strange it was for me to just paint and not constantly have a photo to refer back to for reference. I wanted to paint something looser and more impressionistic than what I usually do. This was my way to try doing that. For some reason, and maybe it's just due to taking the picture in the late afternoon light from the window, the water did not register as green as it is in the actual painting.
I'm so glad that I stuck this one out because there were so many moments when I wanted to just put it aside and work on painting something I'm more familiar with. I learned along the way that it's OK to and I'm capable of changing my initial ideas as I go along. It's not necessary to stick with what I think I want because I could be missing out on something much better if I don't go with the flow - literally - when working with watercolors.
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