Chinese Street Scene #2

Today I went back to my studio class and was delighted to be there.  I hadn't been able to do anything since last time which isn't good.  It takes constant practice to get better - in anything.  Ah well. 

 

You may remember the first "Chinese Street Scene" (6" x 9") which is right here:

 

 

I was quite pleased with it because it was my first non-landscape watercolor.   BUT it was a rainy day when I took the picture (through a car window covered with water droplets), and this first try looks more like after the rain than during it.  So I thought I'd try again, and my instructor suggested I tone down the colors to suggest at least a dull day.

 

Below is what I had at the end of today's class, and I decided that I wanted to finish it.  First, I should tell you that this one is a different size (9 x 11½") which altered the proportions.  Second, I didn't paint all of this today; I did some work in a previous class.  Third, the horrid green you side on either side is Frog Tape used to hold the paper on the board so it doesn't buckle when water is used (the tape in the first one is painter's blue tape - I switched). 

The change in the colors makes a striking difference, don't you think?  Here's a secret.  Even if I'd had the time in class to complete this painting, I wouldn't have.  This will make ME smile.  I needed to find a picture of a motorcycle!

 

In the afternoon, I tried sewing because D wasn't around, and I really want to finish what I am now calling the "Tea in the Bonsai Garden" quilt, but he came home too quickly.  Knowing that he'd be in and out of the house and wanting to talk, I chose the wiser path and turned off the sewing machine.   After finding a picture of a motorcycle, I went back to painting.  You'll see that the motorcycle is still rather lacking in detail, but that's the way I want it.  Indeed, I think I'll make the spokes less distinct; one wouldn't see them like this if it were moving.

 

I have to make a decision about the rain now.  In class I picked up some ideas about how I might go about making this more obviously a rainy day, but it will take experimenting on scrap paper.  I don't want to try something and totally ruin what I do have.

 

They're very different, aren't they?  What do you think about the two?  Is there one you like better than the other?  Why?