So I held true to my New Years thoughts and ambitions ..
And finally finished one of those watercolor paintings.. That had been sitting unfinished for far too long. I wish I could say it felt completely satisfying, but the truth is I do not really like how it turned out. Maybe I rushed it or maybe I am just rusty, but what I envisioned as loose and fluid ended up feeling tight and full of hard lines. The more I looked at it, the more it felt very very novice, and I found myself wondering if I was being overly critical or simply honest with myself.
It's sitting at the top left hand corner - Unfinished sunrise watercolor painting
At the very end, while taking the final photo and signing the piece.. I actually laughed and thought to myself this is probably why you left it unfinished in the first place. Still, despite all of those thoughts, I do feel accomplished. The goal was to create something, and that happened, even if my personal critiques are louder than I would like them to be. Sometimes the act of finishing is the real victory.
'Sunrise Over The Marsh'
4.5" X 7.5" - Watercolor Painting
The Process ..
Either way I am looking at it, I wanted to walk you through the process, because there is always something to learn from both the frustrations and the missteps.
I started right where I had left off, with a partly finished sunrise and absolutely no foreground to speak of. From there I sketched in an area of tidal water, something similar to a marsh or what you might find in bay areas near the ocean. I used various shades of blue and purple to loosely map this out and incorporated watercolor pencils along with mixed paints rather than relying on paint alone.
Next I began shading in lighter and darker tones, especially near the horizon, trying to build some depth. At that point I realized I was not happy with the overall cropping of the piece, so I trimmed it down to a one to one ratio, hoping that would help the composition feel more intentional.
After that I worked on the edges of the marsh grass, trying to define them just enough while adding some texture. I also pulled some of the pinks and yellows from the sky down into the water surface to help tie everything together. I then darkened the water reflections and marsh grass even further, and this is where I really started to feel like I might be making more mistakes than improvements. It was becoming clear that more work was needed, but I was no longer confident in the direction.
I decided the piece needed stronger dark shading everywhere except where the sunlight was centered. I wanted the eye to be drawn to that single focal point, with everything else supporting it by being slightly darker. Even then, I still was not happy with the overall shape, so I cropped the piece again, eliminating about an inch of sky. At the same time I softened the water and grass areas, letting the shape of the waterway take on more of a visual role.
Using a black watercolor pencil, I added contrast to suggest grass or salt hay, then went back over those areas with a damp brush to darken and soften the edges. I also added a few darker clouds in front of the already existing pink clouds, in order to add some contrast and darken the sky a little.
For the final, at least I think final, steps I added highlights in the sky, water, and along the grass edges using white oil paint. Once it fully dried I added just a bit more reflection using green and purple tones so the water, right along the front edges to create the visual effect of marsh grass reflections.
For now though, I am calling it done. I will take what I learned from this piece and move on to something new. I would like to try a similar scene again, but using a few new techniques I recently read about in one of my art books. I really like using water colors, but I need a TON of practice.
Frustrations and successes really are just two sides of the same process..
And sometimes finishing something imperfect is exactly what is needed to move forward.
