Back at it!

Anyone who follows my blog (and I would be surprised there was any one doing THAT) knows it has been some years since I have posted anything new. Well, I recently enrolled in a watercolor class, and that will change.

I stopped oil painting for a variety of reasons, time and space being the two biggest. I wanted my sons to have a dedicated art space, which means I do not have a dedicated art space. Also, I started homeschooling and teaching a class at my parish, so time is limited. But I was really missing painting, I find it very therapeutic. But I have no place to get the oils out, so watercolors seem the logical choice. Only I stink at them, so I have enrolled in a class. I can paint at the dining room table, and clean up is easy.

Hopefully I can find it as therapeutic as oil painting. And since I have had one offer to buy soemthing, MAYBE I can cover costs somewhat (though that block paper is super expensive...ag!)

So, here is the first landscape I did after my first class, which was almost two weeks ago.

I had some trouble with getting the values of the colors right, not dark enough in some places, too dark in others. I have to retrain my brain. With oils you start with the darks and go light, it is opposite with watercolors. The transparency of the paint is also harder to work with, there is no covering mistakes. I also want to work the paint more than I ought. But I was pleased with this first attempt.

I'll post a bowl of apples I did in class that did not turn out too bad either.