Connecting with a Scene for a Watercolor Painting
It’s important to connect with your scene for your painting. I’ve found that loving your subject can inspire you, motivate you, and even energize you. Whether I’m working on a landscape or portrait, framing my scene is my first step.
In conjunction with watercolor painting, I have had a great passion for traveling and photography. I often walk around the neighborhoods of Chicago scouting for architecture and urban landscape scenes which are my favorite. I will sketch the scene on location using Urban Sketching techniques for reference and take some photographs. Taking photos helps you learn to frame your scene.
How to find your location
Walking around where you live, or where you’ve traveled, with the purpose of connecting with a scene, can offer wonderful results. You naturally begin seeing with a scouts eye and finding more and more about the place you live. Some cities are big and some are small but every one offers its own uniqueness. You just have to look for it.
You may already have a location in mind, but if you don’t, or have multiple prospects, I recommend walking in the spaces and asking yourself the questions I list below.
If weather or other reasons keep you from walking your home town, drive to your locations or use Google maps’ Street view to wander around.
Examining your scene
- Visit a favorite location and stand in it.
- Look around and see what things you notice first.
- Why do you like this space?
- Search for new things that you may hove not noticed before.
- Study the space and start framing your scene by deciding on a beginning and an end point.
- How much of the space do you want to capture? All of it? A small portion of it?
- Think that as you make some sketches or take photographs for reference.
