Northern Lights
The reference is very unusual for a watercolor painting but I wanted to experiment with night scene and northern lights.
I used multiple layers to draw the sky based on the technique that Olly teaches in the YT videos on skies. Most of the sky was painted by tilting the board and let water and gravity to do the painting ( with minimal brushwork)
Although the focus was intended to be the sky, I couldn’t get myself to darken the waterfall and river. The waterfall seems to the focal point now and I was hesitant to overwork it. Few takeaways - use wet-in-wet for the foreground to get a cleaner look and perhaps more underpainting for the textures in the mountain
My goal for next year is to learn new techniques in simplification and paint more in loose style with softer edges
Happy New Year
May you explore new painting goals in 2024. And may your journeys be as enjoyable as your destinations
Comments and suggestions are most welcome
What a bold choice of reference photo. I think your painting conveys a better feeling than the original photo. Your balance of the sky and foreground waterfall work well. I am also struck with the fact that the central location of the mountain seems to work compositionally. Perhaps the symmetry of the sky around the mountain plays against the assymmetry of the waterfall and lake in the foreground. Somehow it works for me. In 2024, I hope to follow your advice of enjoying the journey as well as the destinations. Happy New Year. Thanks for sharing.