Painting this Great Blue Heron was a stretch for me. First, I wanted the grass to be loose and not overworked. Second, I was painting larger than I normally do. Third, watercolors are somewhat unpredictable.
I painted the grass first so if I hated it, I could just restart on a fresh paper. And to my surprise, the grass went better than I anticipated... I moved onto the bird. After a few hours, I was pleased and ready to work the background. And that’s when it got ugly.
I spent the next two days correcting mistake after mistake. Usually I can layer paint on top of paint, if the first layer is completely dry. Well this time each time I tried to add a layer, the new paint would lift and leave lines.
Hours later.... I finally got the background to a place where I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. And that’s a place I’m OK to be after having such a struggle. Then I wanted to put a little light by the beak and head with sandpaper. I lifted more... too much. So I went back into the circle of layering paint, and trying to get the background smoother once again.
I finally called it done. Although, I took the longest route possible to get there, this is often the process for me- in life and painting.