Greek Hut, 13 1/4" x 9 1/8"
Well, this was my first foray into watercolor. Actually not really the first, but the first in my more recent artistic endeavors - this was done about two years ago. As I've mentioned before, I'd primarily worked in colored pencil. I think that was in response to my years as a sign painter, working daily with oil based paints and solvents, which I then wanted to avoid at home. However, as much as I truly enjoy drawing, I found some of my pieces became very labor intensive. Lord knows I try to fight my artistic nature and loosen up, but somehow I keep finding myself mired in detail! For instance, just doing the background motif in
"Pond Shadows", seen in my first post, took two days to complete! So, while the effort is often worth the result, I just felt I wanted a break from it and had a desire to pursue a new medium.
A beautifully done watercolor has a dynamic to it that I have always found intriguing. I think because it has that whole Yin-Yang thing going for it. While it can appear very spontaneous and fluid, it's also a challenging medium that requires control and planning. I thought it might be a good fit for me, in that it still allowed for some drawing but a more immediate approach to the coloring of the image - and I love the transparency and luminosity of it! Many of my earlier attempts at watercolor seemed to end up in a pool of muddy color, probably from my impatience and lack of forethought. This time around I decided to try to be a bit more deliberate and methodical. With that in mind, I grabbed an old vacation photo of a rustic building near Hydra, Greece and jumped in! This was the result, and I was encouraged that it actually came out somewhat as I'd hoped and it left me inspired to try some more watercolor!
