Echo Lake Park

5 straight days of rain. And grey, grey and more grey! All that dreariness and rain grinds me down, so last Wed when it finally broke I went for a walk in the park. To see a blue sky was truly a gift. It was early so I practically had the park to myself.

I was able to get this amazing photo… feels like an impressionist painting, doesn’t it?

So, I definitely have to make it a painting of it – but first, a watercolor and ink sketch so I can work out angles, color palette, overall layout. My sketchbook is the perfect place to do a little no-stress planning, and playing.

I sketched it in pencil first, then inked it. (PS – my initial sketch had all the angles off. I was able to correct them with my ink lines)

Then I went in with paint. I heightened the colors for emphasis and to match how it felt to be there. The colors felt more intense and vibrant in contrast to the preceding 5 days of rain/grey.

The world felt fresh, alive and so so colorful!

It’s fun to take a favorite scene, landscape, photo, etc. and make it your own. I think I will do this one more than once to play with different color combos.

The beauty of artist license.

What are you drawing today?