Waterscape Minus the Swans

After a very long week where all my crafting went into vacation bible school decorations, I was finally able to pull out the paper and paints and try my hand at another waterscape. I tried the same technique of wetting both the back and front, then painting a line across the paper, tilting it up and then down, for that water-mirror image.
I even added some clouds into the sky (patting myself on the back) and remembered to color the water beforehand. This time, instead of swans being the focal point, I decided to paint in some brush and rocks into the foreground and let the shoreline across the water be the focal point.
As you can see, I signed it, which means I like what I created. All my watercolor paintings are put into my art journal, but only the ones I like have been signed. I treat the others as learning tools.
I won a non-credit course at the community college at an auction last Spring, and had planned to take a watercolor painting class. By the time the Fall semester offers its catalog of classes, I might just have to look for something else!
If you were able to take a free class, what would you choose? I want to learn Adobe Photoshop Elements 12, how to roll sushi, learn German, move around to Zumba, and about nine other things! If I had the time and money, I'd be a professional student!!

Swan Lake

So today I pulled out all the stops and tried my hand at a waterscape. I learned a new technique--if you really want your paint to spread in amazing ways, wet BOTH sides of the paper. Once I drew a line across the page, I tilted it back and level and got a lovely mirror image for my water scene.
I built up the trees and tried to give them more dimension. I added some white clouds in the sky. And I looked at it and went--hmm, boring. No focal point, and too much blue again! So, I continued using white paint and added the swans floating in the forefront. All I have to do now is sign it.
I like it. And I continually learn from each canvas I paint! Maybe by the time Fall semester rolls around, I won't need to take a watercolor class anymore. Maybe I'll branch out to other media. Meanwhile, I borrowed six books on watercolor painting from the library. I'm planning on spending a lot of time this weekend with my brushes!!