Desert Landscape

      My first step was to make a rough sketch of my resource, blocking out the large value shapes and making some preliminary notes.

Next, I did a more detailed value sketch and played around with a few different color triads.  In the end I decided to go with the Basic Triad (Ultramarine blue, Cadmium Red, and Cadmium Yellow)

I did a quick wet on dry underwash, making sure to vary the temperature.  I also made sure to add texture and leave some of the white of the paper with the intent of letting some of this original underwash to show through in the final painting.

I began by blocking in some of the darkest shapes and added texture by spattering and dropping salt and water into the wet paint.

I then drew a rough charcoal sketch over the blocked in-shapes.  I like the texture and the velvety darks that charcoal creates when it mixes with the watercolor paint.

I worked the sky in a little darker, with wet on wet.

 

I continued to render out the picture, making sure not to cover up too much of the underpainting

I added some bright blues and oranges to the rocks in order to give the final painting some variety

I kept the most finished and rendered part of the painting as the focal point, and experimented with leaving less important areas unfinished.

The final painting