Day 15: Hey! We are crossing the halfway mark!

How are you all doing? Is everyone keeping up – got your 15? If not, tomorrow might be a good day to do some tiny studies to catch up.

I think I have 22 or 27/30 – depending on how you count fails.

If you’re taking ‘failed’ paintings to completion, in order to learn from them, then the bad painting still has to count for something. Otherwise you’re going to burn out. You put in the time! You should get to the reward.

On the other hand, I think one should learn to spot fails as fast as possible – that way you have more energy left to try again. Today I had three quick fails, where I bailed immediately. So I’m not going to count them. I just flip the paper over and try again. If the first few shapes are wrong, (The roof line in this case) the whole perspective will be off in the end.

Watercolor has no mercy! (Good thing I’m using student paper for today’s sketch 🙂 I knew it would be tricky to get what I want.

In the end I had to stop and do an under-drawing.

This kind of complex architectural subject (even when I’m being intentionally weird with it) seems to require a drawing. So, most of my video today is talking about that.

I think my final answer is, I’m going to stop debating if using line in a “Direct Watercolor” is good or bad. Just like the topic of gouache. It’s getting to be pedantic to bring it up. (IMO). I feel we should only judge the final product, not how it was made.

And then – doubly so – we shouldn’t even judge these at all!!! That’s missing the point of #30×30; which is just to make things every day, and let the process carry you along. The learning is automatic, and unavoidable, if you simply show up for play everyday 🙂

(I’m talking to myself here, nobody is being a rules-lawyer. it’s just me thinking about it all the time 🙂

Ok! Have fun, and I hope you’re keeping up at the mid point here! 15/30!!