The Boat Shed

A few weeks ago, one of the regulars in the watercolor class brought in a photograph of three boats that were stored in/near a shed. There were several more boats in the background. I am not sure how it happened, but apparently the class decided it would be fun if everyone painted it! Since I was not there that day, I just received the photo in an email and was told about the 'assignment.'

UGH! I am not a boat painter - here were LOTS of boats - and I am trying to simplify - here were LOTS of boats!

But, even though I am only on the sub list, I am part of the class and want to 'play by the rules.' So I would tackle this project.

The first thing I did was print out the photo. The nice thing about painting is that each of us can choose to interpret an assignment in the way that works for each individual. We are NOT compelled to copy the picture.

How could I simplify? Maybe just paint one of the many boats... I cut the photo in half. That's better.

I did my sketch and thought it might be okay. As I began painting, I got into the rhythm of it and began to think of the boating that my husband and I had done. At one point we had an old dinghy much like this one and I remember it leaning against a tree in our backyard in the 'off' season.

I painted the boat and the shed. When I got to the background, I decided to throw in some color (not paint any "things") and then I added a yellow sky. I knew it wasn't finished, but wanted to just look at it for awhile to see what else I might do.

I took it to class the following week - it looked like this.

One of the questions asked in class was "Where is the horizon?" It needs to be defined. It also needed more definition on the keel and the lower corner of the boat. I added some additional darks and a few other tweaks here and there. Voila - it looks like this!

"The Boat Shed"  matted 16x20 watercolor  $150

This painting is currently hanging in Miller Hall at Trinity Cathedral. Drop by and see several other artists' works also!