"Silently Waiting" watercolor painting

12 x 9 watercolor "Silently Waiting"

I'm happy to say this painting is done!  It has been fun taking a break from my other mediums and going back to watercolor.  This project in particular was meditative to do.  All the interesting shapes were painted separately.  Very detailed, very controlled, but done in one small shape at a time....I haven't tried Zentangle yet, but from what I have read about it - it sounds a little like what I did here with the reflections.

A New Swamp Painting in Progress

Here is another complicated one.

First, I did a black, grey and white pattern study.  Then I began the watercolor.  This is so complicated, I started to pencil in the shapes and then soon realized that if I pencil in the entire picture, I would be lost in a maze and I would no longer know what shape was what - what shape was green - what shape was brown, etc.

So I began painting the colors in the shapes after just drawing a few at a time.  I can darken them later with glazing.  At least I know what is what from the get go.

Now, I have most of the shapes blocked in on the upper half of the painting.  My hubby can't wait for me to do the alligator!  Patience....patience....

Continuing on with the watercolor painting of the swamp...

Today I added some light blue to the water.  Now, my hubby says it looks like water instead of snow.  "All in good time, I say, it is a process."

I also added a little more color to the green floating plant leaves and the smaller greenish stuff that floats on the water (is that pond scum????).  I also added a little more dark at the base of the branches in the shadow on the water.  The water is very shallow, and I don't quite know how to portray the bottom of the swamp where you can see it instead of the reflection....at least, I don't know how to do this in watercolor.  But I do know how to do that in pastel.  So, I'm hesitant to try to do it in watercolor.  There are no rocks on the bottom of the swamp - just mud.  So, I might just leave that out in this picture.

Next stage will probably be a little more dark accents and finish out the spider plants growing in the crooks of the branches.  When all done and dry, I might try a razor blade and scratch some highlights in where necessary.....later....

Preparations for a pastel painting...painting a swamp scene from Florida Everglades

I am going to paint a pastel painting....but first I need to work out some issues with my subject.

Here is my photo of a swamp in Florida we visited.  It is very, very complicated.  I did a sketch with pen and ink and watercolor, trying to simplify it into a composition of a few of the elements in 4 values and a few shapes.

Next, I put my sketch out as my reference and started a watercolor on Arches coldpress block, using the sketch and making a few refinements of the shapes and began putting in the lightest colors.  As you probably know, when working with watercolor, you work from light to dark.

More color, more values, shadows of the branches more refined than in the sketch.

Doing refined darks of many colors of the branches.

If this painting comes out well as a watercolor, I might have to enter it in a show!  But my intention is to paint a pastel painting after I am done with this and work out all the composition, color, reflections, and issues that might arise - in watercolor first!   But, so far, this is looking pretty nice!

As an aside, I want to mention that I always wanted to visit the Everglades in Florida.  Last month we went to Florida for a week - our first visit ever.  I took many photographs and enjoyed my hikes along the trails and boardwalks of the various parks and nature preserves.  Swamps are very complicated scenes to paint though.  Every picture I took is of thickets and plants choking every available space.  So, it will take some thought on my part to eliminate a lot of extraneous information that is just too much for a painting.

Also, I must note that I am not familiar with this plant life.  I feel better doing drawing and sketching first to see if I can portray these subjects well - before I paint them.

The next post will be a continuation of this one.....stay tuned....