Almost Spring

This winter has been tough, even for those of us who enjoy the cold. I figured since Mother Nature was teasing us with an almost Spring day (it hit over 60 degrees here) before sending us more cold, I would paint something colorful. . .and warm.

                          Watercolor on 140lbs watercolor block 9x12

I used M Graham watercolors for this (I bought his Shades of Summer limited edition at a year end close out sale; highland green, bismuth yellow, cobalt teal, permanent green pale and scarlet pyrrol) instead of my normal Daniel Smith.  I did supplement with DS verditer blue to create a purple for the sky (I thought I would get a purple from the orange-red scarlet pyrrol and cobalt teal, but that made a nice brown I used on the beach).  Funny thing is, apparently MG and DS watercolors do not mix so well.  You can see the granulation in the clouds (this also happened on my palette as the mix dried).  That is too bad as I like these colors, perhaps I will make a MG only travel palette.

I like the layering of colors in the beach and the dunes, probably because I allowed the paints to fully dry before laying on additional paint. . .Ah patience, it is a virue.