Continuing with Watercolor Painting of Hope Valley

We have a new storm blowing it.  The sky is getting darker, so I thought I would photo this before the flash comes on and spoils the image.  Then I will go back and work some more.

After painting the first day on this, I realized I grabbed a different paper than I usually use.  I usually paint on 140 lb. Arches cold press.  I was wondering why this paper was so stiff!  But I like how it doesn't warp and buckle!  It is the left-over piece of 300 lb. Fabriano Artistico that we used in a workshop.  It is an interesting paper.  It has a little bit of texture and it has some kind of gell on top of the paper, so your paint doesn't soak in.  You end up pushing it around on top.  So, my mountains and sky look different than I was expecting.  No matter.  I will try things differently and learn something in the process.

Starting a Watercolor Landscape

This painting is going to have several layers of distance.  I started with the sky because it is the farthest away.  Usually I don't do the foreground so soon, but the water is reflecting the sky and I wanted to block it in so that it would relate to the sky colors.  Eventually, the water will be a little darker than the sky, because what I've been told in painting classes, the sky is lighter than the lightest reflection in the water.  Next, I blocked in the mountains, then I wet the paper and put in the background trees.  When it dries I can put in the trees that are in front, then the bushes in front of the trees, then so on and so forth.