Exploring Watercolor - New Mexico Ranch House

I had a very short time to paint yesterday afternoon...a good opportunity to continue exploring watercolors while keeping it loose.  It's hard to express the sense of freedom I've enjoyed while painting these small watercolor 'experiments'.   It feels just like what the Doctor ordered.  I have been so bound up, so confused with oils lately.  The watercolors have come along at just the right time. I am aware that I am painting them like an oil painter...and missing the subtle magic inherent in w/c ....but just letting it go and seeing what happens has been a terrific feeling. 

This 1/2 sheet was done in less than an hour....including clean-up, which mercifully is almost non-existent.  I used a photograph and oil painting I had done of an abandoned ranch house on the Acoma Reservation in New Mexico simply because both were right there when I decided I had an hour to "play."  I'm still very much re-learning watercolor process and technique, but for this sketch, I tried not to think too much.  One or two minutes of object placement with a pencil was all that went into the planning.  After that it was placing color with one of those wonderful razor sharp flats...whether that was the right brush or not!  Many mistakes and just a whole lot of FUN!

New Mexico Ranch House   watercolor approx.  14 x 20

My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art