Plein Air.Day 2.Part 3

In the Zone
This watercolor image has a bit of a Japanese feel to it. I love the white space on the right side in particular. I would prefer if it felt less levitated and more grounded, but I sure did like the way I felt as I worked on this piece; I was "in the zone" and was not overthinking much of anything. Click on the photo to see the details.

Strategy
For the remainder of Day 2, I was on a roll and continued to work quickly on multiple paintings, a strategy that has worked well for me in the past. That way, I can let things dry at their own speed (one must be patient with watercolor on a humid day). Mutiple tablets means that I don't need to "push the river" with a blow dryer. This approach also provides some mental space which helps me avoid overworking a painting. On Day 1, I had two blocks of watercolor paper. When I wanted to start a third piece, I tore the paper off the block. That's not the best strategy as the paper warps more when you do that. So, at the close of Day 1, I purchased a third block of watercolor paper. It's a smaller block -- only 9"x14". I had intended to purchase another 12"x16", like the other two, but the sticker shock got me.

The "Other" Painting
All my paintings for Days 2 and 3 were of this one tree, a European Beech (see previous post of tree identification details). I had one other piece going that was not a tree, but nasturtiums and bricks. It's a weak piece, probably because I was painting from my head and not the real thing and I did not have an emotional connection to my subject matter. I might be able to work it into an interesting collage some other day, but even without reworking it, that "other painting" had merit as it helped clear my head from all the green and the trees.

Shooting
I had a terrible time shooting this painting. I just did not have enough light and kept getting blurry images. In the end, I used a flash, consequently the color is not spot on. I like to crop photos of paintings right to the edge. The paper had warped and cropping to a rectangle meant losing a bit of the edges. Note to self: Flatten watercolor paintings before shooting them.

Post Script -- February 2008
This summer, I offered my mom one of the painting from this plein air series. This is the one she selected. Last month, the painting, now framed, arrived in my apartment. I liked this one anyway but knowing that my mom liked it makes it all the more important to me. The framing is not bad; I had expected it would be floated but it's still nice.