I just moved to the North shore of Lake Eola in Eola Heights, Orlando Florida. Each day I take a walk to the lake and often do a sketch. I started with watercolor sketches but now I am doing oil paintings which take about 3 sessions to complete.
This watercolor sketch was done before all the swans were removed from Lake Eola. I managed to sketch one swan swimming across my field of view. The sun was setting quickly so I tried to capture the light before everything went dark. The fountain lights turned on and the streams billowed up a blood red. It is an effect I am sure I will capture better using oil paint.
There was a crowd of people gathered on the deck that juts out over the water. They were taking pictures and talking. I wonder if they are there every night or if this was a tourist group. Being able to walk to the north shore of Lake Eola any day, morning or night is a thrill and my plan right now is to do 49 paintings all around the circumference of the lake. I have done 5 of those oil paintings so far.
There will also be plenty of small sketches like there. I want to break away from watercolor and start using gouache which can be applied opaque with layers of color overlapping. With the lake as a backdrop subject every day I hope to start experimenting more and taking chances.
Making mistakes and making some honestly ugly paintings is all part of the process.