Something I Like

It’s always a good feeling, isn’t it, when we draw or paint something we like. This watercolor is simple, but I do like it. I like old roads, and I wanted a chance to practice more on trees, so I put the ideas together and came up with this:

I actually did this painting a little backward. Instead of starting with the sky, I painted the foreground first. I wanted to stay loose — but not too loose. Once I’d painted the roadway, I added the sky, and then I worked on the trees and foliage.

One thing I’ve been doing lately is observing nature, looking more closely at the shapes of distant trees, and taking note of the different tints and shades of green I actually see. In doing this painting, I tried to show a sense of aliveness in the trees.

I hope you like my quiet country road.