Lake Emma

This week I did a watercolor painting demonstration for the Lake Mary Woman's Club. I had 45 minutes to do this demonstration and I wanted it to be large enough so everyone in the back of the room could see the progress of the painting. My favorite paper is 300# Arches cold pressed full sheets which are 30 x 22. Prior to the demonstration I did a plein air painting study of this composition and knew preciously what I wanted to accomplish. I started with the sky and put in the colors of the atmosphere which included various shades of blue, raw sienna and violet. These same colors are also used in the landscape and help to unify the painting. Next I painted in the basic colors of the marsh grasses before moving to the distant line of trees on the other side of the lake. I put in the foreground trees, some of the branches and pine needles and my demonstration ended as quickly as it started. However I wasn't satisfied with the painting. The actual location of the lake was a two minute walk from where I did the demonstration. I took my painting back to the lake and spent a couple more hours defining the details of the painting. A couple more hours in the studio and my painting of Lake Emma was complete.