Painting in Watercolor: Estuary at KVI, Part One--preparing

Estuary at KVI

KVI beach is one of my favorite places on Vashon Island. I picnicked  there with my kids when they were growing up, watched the fireworks from the beach, took my class there on field trips when I had Suzanna's School. I walked there daily when recovering from surgery. 

Here's a little watercolor of the stream and bank behind the beach, with some tips on technique. I used a photo for inspiration--then lost the photo, so I'm sorry I can't show it to you.

Very light pencil sketch

 1. First, draw the composition very lightly in pencil. This is the basis for the painting. I drew the darkest and most interesting lines in ink. This is not something I've done before; usually I either draw the scene in pencil, paint over that, and ink last, or I draw the whole scene in ink and paint over that.

Value study; noticing where the lights and darks are

2. When working in the studio I have the luxury of doing a value study. This gives me a chance to look more closely at the scene and make some more decisions about what to include.

Palate

3. Something else I can take time for in the studio is to create a color palate. That way I can try out colors and color mixes ahead of time.

When painting on scene, I often have another piece of paper to try out colors before applying them to the painting.

Next time we'll splash--or brush--on the color! Oh, and add detail.  You won't miss it if you follow me by email (top left corner of the blog page). I hope you join me!