Watercolour purist

Stage1

Stage 2 after a visit to the sink

 Nearly finished.

It was excellent getting back into a painting subject, I found this very challenging, I used a limited palette. I wanted to get out to paint, but with grey skies and no shadows and really cold, I worked off some sketches I've done before of Grange in Borrowdale. I'm a funny old thing when it comes to painting, things have got to be right around me Brushes laid out ready for execution, water constantly been changed,  room temperature warm but not hot or cold, radio or music on silence reminds me that the radio isn't on  and that stops concentration!  I was told the other day in jest' your such a purist' this was when the subject of tracing was brought up. I don't agree with it and said 'if you can't sketch it freehand you shouldn't sketch it at all' I was struggling getting the perspective right on a jetty, 'just trace it' they said, 'I can't it's cheating'!!! They replied that it's just a tool. But is it a tool? Surely it stops you from studying subjects, there is nothing more enjoyable than sitting on a beautiful day sketching something that inspires the heart and soul of an artist, and this is what we try to put down on paper.