Day 19 : #30x30DirectWatercolor : Lisbon Train Station
Day 19:
There’s a reliable pattern to a painting marathon. You start out tentative, maybe a little rusty. You push through some bad ones, some exercises, and suddenly there’s a peak – (a little too close to the middle for my liking) – when you hit your stride. You’re doing things you never expected.
Making breakthroughs!
Or at least, taking risks – based on new-found confidence.
This is the point where you have enough good work in the bag you won’t be ashamed of yourself, but you haven’t beaten your personal-best yet either.
It’s a public performance after all – so you find yourself willing to bang out a piece you’d frankly have been scared to try previously.
It’s time to go big, or go home.
If I had to put a finger on it, I’d say what’s changing is my use of brushstrokes, versus shapes.
In the past I might have emphasized fusing all the strokes within a silhouette. So every wet shape is solidly melted together. (If you’re a regular reader, I’m sure you’ve heard me say that.)
Right now, I’m willing to leave things broken up. It’s turning into individual brush-marks floating and layering over each other – building up a mosaic.
Maybe this is coming from my last two years of oil painting?
I don’t know, but I’m open to where it’s going.
Citizen Sketcher 
Love the festive COLOR! All those brushstrokes give a “shatter” vibe to the painting –
Love it!! Please continue in this style! Acrylics aren’t my thing, so I much prefer your WC…..and this is terrific! Suzanne in San Diego ( PS….I have your Urban Sketcher book and thoroughly enjoy your blog. Thanks very much!)
Sent from my iPad
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Terrific nocturne that captures the high energy of the train station. Wow!
Marc, are you adding them wet on wet or letting it dry before adding the brush strokes? It does look oil-ish, which is unique and intriguing.
Hey Terry – yes, it’s painted wet-on-dry, in the sense that the paper is taped down dry, and I just begin to paint into each little shape ‘directly’ – so, the shapes become wet with the first touch of color. So – it’s all one layer, except for the little bit of dark leaves in the front, and the darks in the windows, which are painted over top of previous dry.