Fall watercolor painting; next step

To review: we started with a light pencil sketch and a couple of ink lines,  then painted in the lightest colors:

We used some "negative painting" to define the shape of the orange tree by painting around it with a medium value green.

Now come the dark colors. Add the darks last. You can always make things darker, but in watercolor, you can't make things lighter. Well, unless you use gouche paints, but that's another story. Notice how the dark green makes the orange and the yellow green trees more vibrant.

The very darkest colors give the whole painting a vibrancy and guide your eye around the painting, while a few ink lines define a bit of detail. I used a white jelly pen to add highlights and to give your eye a nice paved pathway, so to say .

Mondays I plan to introduce some common watercolor techniques, so stay tuned!