For the First Time

Judith

Some of you — my Facebook friends — may have already seen this watercolor. I like it well enough that I posted it there. This is, you see, the first time I’ve painted a leafy tree that I actually like. I’m very pleased with this painting, and although I think the tree is still the weakest area, it’s definitely an improvement over my summer trees of the past.

Watercolor 160703 Distant Hills

I’m especially fond of my bush on the left. I like the skies, too. I’m not completely satisfied with the shape of the tree (the scanner cuts off part of it) but I’m getting closer to where I want to be with my landscape painting.

Thanks for letting me share my little work of art today. It’s especially fun to share something that I feel good about. I hope I continue to improve day by day.

 

33 Comments

  2. Glad that you like this painting, Judith. 🙂 It is beautiful! I especially love the tree trunk and layering of the leaves. I also like the bushes on top of the mountain. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks so much, Carrie. I’ve been practicing a “rolling” dry brush technique, and it was really hard for me to get the hang of it at first. I’m learning to use it now, and I do like the results. And yes, I was really proud of the layering on the tree’s leaves. I’m getting better! Woo-hoo!

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      1. Woot! Woot! Woot! Happy for you my friend! Happy to be joining in your happiness too. Shall we do the happy dance? 😀 and then I have to go and research about rolling dry brush technique. 😀

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      2. You won’t find anything by searching 😦 I tried. I first saw the technique in a YouTube video, and I ran across it again in the Aubrey Phillips watercolor book I have. It’s using a damp, round brush, and then rolling/dragging it over the page to form foliage. It’s hard to get the right amount of “dampness” and paint on the brush — at least it was for me — and then I had to practice until my strokes resembled foliage. I’ll see if I can find the original video I watched. If I can I’ll send you the link.

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      3. I know what you mean with the right amount of dampness. I was practicing dry brush because my next flower project uses the dry brush technique and I cant seem to get the right brush stroke. The sketched flower is just waiting for me to be ready for color. So frustrating. How I wish I have that magic wand and whisk magic dust to everyone who struggles with the medium they are in love with right now and make us better. If only….

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      10. Oh, I want to see your trees! I haven’t had a chance lately to browse around and read everyone else’s blog posts. Let me go take a look now.

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      16. Thank you! I made use of the colors that I have. It somehow looks the same as what the tutor had. 🙂 And maybe because I was ‘playing’ and it brought happy thoughts and my mood slowly lifted.

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  4. Love how I can see your improvement and growth….so cool! Now…..you know what? I like to use a Japanese sumi brush for doing foliage. I don’t always remember to grab it because I am either in too much of a hurry to get it all done with the brush I am using. But when I do remember to use my sumi brush I love how you can get such wonderful variation with color and strokes. I can find a youtube video for you or maybe you can google it. Believe me, I love it. I will post a painting on Facebook where I have used the sumi brush for foliage, so you can see…..great work Judith!

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    1. Thanks so much! I’ll search around a bit. The sumi brush sounds very intriguing. I’ve been doing a lot of leafy foliage lately. It’s finally starting to come out more like it should.

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    1. Thank you. I love doing skies. That’s one thing I feel very comfortable with in watercolor. I feel like I’m getting better on mountains, too. I’ll just keep working on one thing at a time. 🙂

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