A walk with color

This week I worked on a couple of watercolor paintings using color in different ways. It’s easy to try to do too much, so my focus this week was to not get overly involved. 

In the first painting I really simplified the shape so I could just focus on the ways color interact. The red was a risk, but in the end, it’s my favorite part. 

In this second painting I really limited the colors to monochromatic values. I wish I’d used better paper, but trying this in the sketchbook first made it easier to jump in. I wasn’t sure I’d like this one, but I like it well enough to want to try again on better paper. 

I also revised my first tree painting. It felt like a good background, but I wanted to add something that would be a focal point. The opaque watercolors I used dissolved pretty easily so that I could add this bark beetle. There are a few more changes I’ll make to the foreground trees (to make them more Ponderosa-y) and I’ll add more detail to the beetle.