
This is a painting that I use in my watercolour classes. I hadn’t painted it for a while so I was interested to see if I could add any new elements to it to keep it fresh. I did 85 % of the painting in class last night. I finished it off this morning.
A couple of things that came to mind during this process.
1) The first 85 % of the painting is about getting the big shapes, putting them into a pleasing composition and giving them the right value. If this works then you know that your painting will work.
2) The last 15 % of the painting which includes adding details, unifying colours, adjusting values and adding accents and highlights can take as long as the first 85 %. This part brings the painting to life.
Anyway, that’s how it happened with this painting.
When I look at it now I think it has a great sense of light and is very realistic while not being overly busy. I can also see 2 things I would change next time. The first is to not have all the highlights in the green bushes at the bottom. It looks like it’s being lit from below. Secondly I think it still has too much pure white paper even though I reduced it to just to the right of the door.