Garden Gate Watercolor

One thing about small paintings...they don't take too long to complete. (10 x 11) At least I think this is complete. It is not signed yet.

I did decide to put in the bricks after all but tried to be very subtle so they would not get too busy. I faded off the edges in order to highlight the gate and interior but now as I look at it...I don't like the flat straight edge that is leading right out of the left side of the painting. It is the top of the fence, of course, but I think I need to make that more varied in shape for more interest while keeping it very light and fading.

Then I cropped the photo just so I could see what it might look like just as the gate. But I think I like having the little sign which says "Tea Room" as it makes it more of a "story" painting that way.

It would be fun to "over mat" this in a square frame. I think I have a white frame that would like light and nice.

In the first painting there is a sky it just didn't photo very well..very light with lots of white clouds so as not to be too busy up there either.

After I did my exercise DVD, the rain stopped mid-morning and Greg and I went down to sit in the adirondack chairs on the pier and watch the loon for a little while before lunch. (Just one loon, as the other is sitting on a nest!) And we saw an eagle which is very common on this lake. We watched the clouds "skud" away. Beautiful. Then Greg headed off to friend Ron to bring him a tee shirt we got for him while traveling and I headed to the studio for awhile.

If I am going to enter 3 paintings in the Manito Art Show...I need to get that entry blank done and out like NOW. I have 5 paintings lined up in the studio so Greg is going to held VOTE on which ones. The framing can come later...the show is July 19-22 so there is time for that later.