I admit, I pretty much gave up on this when the cat walked across it. But there are a number of things I like here:
1) I like the way the wash wandered. I finally opened up a bit and decided to let the water move the pigment in a number of places. Maybe I was over compensating for the rigid adherence that ruined my last painting. I especially like the effect in the tree, toward the top.
I tried to cast a mood with the background, instead of painting objects. I think I like this, though I can be even looser on the next attempt.
I used masking fluid to keep the tree trunk protected from the wash, and I think that was the right use. However, I then overworked the tree trunk after the leaves were painted, and it killed some of the lines.
I tried spraying water here and there to soften edges in some places. I like this effect, as opposed to brushing clean water at the edges. The spray bottle makes the image feel more organic.
I like the splashes of purple, but I got a little carried away. I need to learn that when I drop pigment here, and I just LOVE the effect, I shouldn’t drop it there as well, hoping to get more effects in the painting. If you love one thing, make it the only thing. That way, the viewer’s eye will be drawn to it, because it stands out as a unique and interesting object.
I also almost like the composition here, though I think I need another rock, and less in the background at the horizon. A splattered flower or three couldn’t hurt.
Well, it could. It could completely ruin the painting… but we’ll see.
When I was done and letting it dry before adding the last level of detail, my cat decided she wanted to drink my water. So she stepped in pink paint and walked on my painting. I tried to soften the paw prints, but there wasn’t much I could think to do.