This is the photograph I mentioned as being ideal for watercolor paints - only partially because it was taken on a rainy day from inside a car. We were in Changchun, an industrial city in Manchuria, China. Though you wouldn't know it from this photo it had snowed earlier that morning and then the weather turned to cold rain. None of us were expecting such cold weather in April!
Here is my preliminary sketch (it's hard to see, I know, but I thought you might like to know that sometimes I do sketch before painting). It was tricky to do as I'm sure you can gather from the photograph. The person on the cycle in the lower right is barely visible, so I made that part up. In China, bicycles are a common means of transportation, but as we were in an industrial city known for its automobile factories, I thought it might be possible for a person to have a motorcycle. Clearly I will have to do some research as to what motorcycles really look like before making another attempt at this scene.
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| Chinese Street Scene |
Well, while this is obviously different from the photograph, I like this painting, and it deserves another try. I played with dimensions as I love the buildings, but my colors are too bright for such a rainy day. And that's the big problem. Although the street shows reflections and looks a bit wet, the rest of the painting doesn't. I tried using a spray bottle, but that didn't work.
Tomorrow during class, I'll ask for some help with my issues.
I really like this even if it isn't raining at the time. I think the rain is over (Mother Nature could take that clue right about now) and people are going about their business once again! For someone who's not comfy with watercolors, looks great to me.
ReplyDeleteNoel, I would be very pleased to have done your painting. I do agree that it's worth a do over, and, yes, the buildings should be more subdued in color. Since your photo was taken through glass spotted with water droplets, your final painting could still be very effective without the little droplets, but with more natural rain occurring in the street scene. I look forward to your subsequent attempts. Perhaps this one will end up being your best. I like it very much, and can imagine that the sun has reappeared after a shower now illuminating the buildings.
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