For this weeks painting I decided to rework another of the older images I had that I knew I could improve on.  It was an image I had painted probably four years ago as a gift.  It was probably half the size of the new one and on what I have now decided to be my less preferred paper.  The below image is also not of very good quality as it is a photograph of the image whilst it was behind glass in a frame.  It was more for my own records then to accurately represent the painting.

I have enjoyed using a more subtle process with this image.  The colours are softer and more blended into the image then they have been in recent paintings.  I was able to explore white open spaces in the image also.  Leaving the fence, parts of the gravel and sky bare paper was very valuable experience for me.  I have found myself over saturating an image with colour and not leaving myself much room to darken or lighten the image.  So this excercise was a good way for me to take a closer look at this.

I feel that this image is a good indication of where this challenge has taken my use of watercolour.  I have become more more confident and decisive while painting and follow the process relatively quickly.  I am feeling like I can now take on larger and more detailed images confidently.

This one is just a very simple exercise. Two colours, basic image and not a lot of time. I used a few different brushes with this one and played with different techniques. I started with no real plan but the idea of silhouette and the sky which I was kind of trying for with the previous pine tree image, however that went in a different direction. I am hoping to come up with the 10th image this weekend so I can be completely on track with paintings for the amount of weeks this challenge has gone for.

I am also looking at using my last few pieces of paper on A3 sized images to complete the challenge. I have a few images in mind and I think it would be a good way to end the challenge. Then I think I will spend the rest of the time before baby to play with some illustrations and cute acrylic paintings.

For a long part of the process I thought this image was just going to be a scrap or study image.  But to my surprise it came together in the end in such a way that I consider it to be complete and another addition to my collection.

It was pretty loose and random by the end and I didn’t try to replicate much of anything except for what I thought was going to work on the paper.  I just knew I had the idea of silhouettes of trees in front of a setting sun and that pine trees always make me think of the Queensland coastline.

I think I may be ready for some larger sized images.  I’m thinking of trying some waterscapes and such and my confidence is greatly increasing with this medium.  And you know what If I waste a sheet of delicious paper I can always get some more..  remember that sister.