A Painting a Day: River Rentals on the Guadalupe

I found this storage of canoes and kayaks to be an appealing area.  

Canoes and kayaks were thrown together after a busy weekend on the river.

I began drawing out this scene and knew I had to go larger than I had been drawing because the complexity of details demanded it's space.  

Once the drawing was established I put in a quick wash of color in the background to suggest shrubs and tall grasses and then began to work toward the foreground working light to dark.

Watercolor is completed in multiple layers, with each progressive transparent layer going over the previous layer, building richness of color and deepening the values but it is necessary to retain the whites.  Once the whites are gone, they are difficult to get back without much work.

I could keep adding details but I decided it could be overkill and did not want to risk overworking the painting and losing the freshness of the colors in painting.    

I have not signed my name so I could still change my mind. 

I think I will live with it a few days and decide if it is complete. 

As an art teacher my students are always saying, 

"I'm done!"

And nine times out of ten I will say, 

"Not yet, you still need to ...." whatever it needs.

Saying it is finished is just hard to do sometimes.

I seem to think one more thing will make it complete.  

My advice is set it aside,

look at it often 

and then when you can separate yourself from the creative process 

and the composition itself you will know when it is time to stop.

Find your creative self!

It is so satisfying.

We were made in the image of our Maker!

He was the most creative!