Editing a Painting

I have finished my first watercolor class on Craftsy.  [Yay!] The last project was to take a painting you had previously done and work on it.    I decided to work on the large boat I had painted before.

Boat 12x18.  Watercolor.  January 2016

Goal:  Identify problem areas and fix them.  Put paint in, take paint out, etc.

Execution:  I added color and detail to the background trees, the water, the orange grass behind the boat and the interior of the boat.   I darkened the shadows inside the boat and under the boat on the grass. 

Learned:  Editing was very enjoyable.  Increasing the contrast between lights/darks really makes a difference in how a painting reads.  

Although I could keep working and re-working the painting forever, I think I can stop with it here.   I like it the way it is.    [I think things can always be different, but not necessarily better.   I don't buy into the 'You can always make it better' philosophy.]

Next up:   A watercolor/pen landscape class.   Should be interesting.

Rowboat

There are plenty of little ponds around here and many folks have small boats to paddle around in - especially if the pond is big enough for fish.   This boat had been pulled out for the winter.

I liked the blue against the orange grass.