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Day 185: Cormorant on a Post, Pt. 5

Cormorant on Post (Watercolour)
Cormorant on Post (Watercolour)

This may well be the last stage of this painting… I had an idea that I might darken the foreground water area, to make it recede a bit, but I’m not sure I like the picture enough to continue with it. Especially after my positively average painting session today, I just don’t feel enough attraction to this piece to encourage me to carry on.

I’ve learnt a lot during the process: new water techniques, how not to paint black feathers, how to have lots of fun with rust and salt. Increasingly though, I’m getting frustrated by the fact you can see every brush stroke, even within areas that ought to be a smooth wash. I think I need to go back to trying loose and messy washes & learning how to suggest something rather than capture it in a rigid fashion.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely pleased with my progress generally, but I recognise that I’m not moving entirely in the direction I’d like to… I guess it might be time to get a bit uncomfortable and try a different zone, as it were.