floundering...

not sure what this is poppies,

watercolor on Fabriano hot pressed paper!

I've learned something about myself. I love painting in watercolor, but I need to know where I am headed when I sit down to paint...These past few days I've been painting poppies. Lots of poppies. I am on my 4th poppy painting and I am seeing something...to sit down and paint without a plan just does not work for me...watercolors take planning- lots of planning, at least for me. On the other hand...mixed media collage is a free for all...I rarely have a pre-defined plan in my head when I sit down to create a collage.

I am finding that I am getting mud if I do not plan my watercolors.

I also am getting some very mediocre watercolor paintings with out a plan.

I am so glad to have learned this. I've been taking my summer of unemployment to explore and learn as much about watercolor as I can by this very kind of experimenting an exploring. I feel very grateful to have the time to do this. Drawing and painting are activities that one must actively DO to learn... I am learning lots!