Thank you for hosting October, Wendy.

I will be very busy this month, so I don’t know if I can contribute.
But I will try to check and comment and maybe there will be a little unexpected time slot.

Esther

Hello everybody, I think this is my first time over here (I mean landscapes forum).

Wendy, thank you very much for hosting and for the great references.

Lots and lots of mistakes, some of them are happy accidents, but mostly just mistakes. Anyway I didn’t expect doing much better at this point (in fact, I expected worse, I kind of like the right half). I have learned a lot with this one, or so I hope
Van Gogh watercolors on an A5 sheet of Canson Imagine Mix Media paper (200g/m2 or 120lb)

Welcome here individuo,
you did your watercolor in a fresh not overworked way.
But with inapt paper you make it much harder for yourself than it has to bee.
I really recommend using professional watercolor paper (e.g. Arches), not a thin mixed media paper. It really makes a difference. Good paper is more important than good paint or brush.
Often beginners think it does not matter and they want to start with cheap paper. Then things are not going well, because of the paper and then they think it is their fault and they are not satisfied and give up.
(Getting of the soap box)

Wendy, one hour after you took the Lake Lucerne photo it stopped raining, the clouds started to lift and someone tied his boat.

Watercolors on Arches paper (30×40 cm)

C&C always welcome

Esther

Thank you Wendy, Esther and Bizzibee.

Esther, wonderful scene!! Thank you very much for the advise as well. I value it and wholeheartedly agree with you. In fact, I dislike this paper (for watercolors), but it is so cheap (I pay 6 euros for a A4 pad with 50 sheets). I have good papers:
-an unopened block of Arches
-an unused sheet of Langton 100%cotton
-some sheets of Guarro (240gr/m2 and 60%cotton), I have tried this one, once, in a small format, and yes, it is much easier and forgiving.
-and some other pads of cellulose paper (such as Canson XXL watercolor) that behave better than the Canson Imagine.
I am trying to convince myself to use the Guarro, it is not very expensive, 2.5 euros for a 50x70cm sheet. And I will use it often, but I don’t see myself dropping the Canson Imagine just yet, there are psychological factors involve and I know myself, ….,well,… a little:lol:
Well, sorry for extending so much, just let you know that I appreciate your advise and, if you don’t see me following it in the near future, it’s because of economical and psychological reasons. But I really agree with it.

Great you joined Alexandr.
You created nearly an abstract with bold colors and the light yellow/white patch as a good coi.

Individuo, I don’t know Langton or Guarro paper, but I really understand economical reasons.
The cheapest way for me are single sheets of cold pressed 185 g/m (90 lb) Arches paper, which costs between 3 and 3.50 Euro here, depending on the art supplier. I cut the sheet to quarters and stretch and mount them to a board. This is necessary as thin paper buckles during wet washes if it isn’t stretched. This way paper for one painting costs less than an Euro.
I still recommend not to use the mixed media paper for the real paintings, maybe for notans, that should be done as a preparation for every painting anyway.

Bizzibee and individua, thank you for your comments.

Esther

Carls, thanks for your comment.
The question is wrong, it should be what am I reading.
And I am reading currently https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html
and especially this section https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/waterfs.html about all the available pigments and colors made by the main brands.
Really valuable stuff.
The difficulty about watercolors is, that you have to know much more about the supplies you use than in every other technique I have seen or tried. That means paper and colors and brush. Only when you know what will behave the way you want/need in your painting, you can choose the right stuff.
Another thing I do before I start a painting is to choose my main colors. Mostly two colors that mix in a beautiful way and fit to the mood I want to achieve. Here it was cerulean blue and transparent orange. And both colors are easily lift-able which is good for haze.
They are mixed in everywhere in this painting.
Adding a bit ultramarine blue and indian red for darker parts of the mountains and a little bit of serpentine green from Daniel Smith, I really fell in love with, for foliage and that’s it.

Esther

Thanks for hosting Wendy. These beautiful photos definitely caught my eye.
Individuo-lovely fresh look. I think you did very well with this scene.
Esther-WOW, what a beauty. You are obviously a well seasoned landscape painter.
Patikeev-beautiful colours and contrasts.