Friday 17 August 2012

Too much thinking is bad for you...





The top watercolour is tiny, the size of a playing card and it took just a few minutes to paint using left over paint from the watercolour below.







This watercolour is much larger and took quite a bit longer and I had a photograph as a reference, the smaller one was painted from memory.   I prefer the small painting don't you?

I painted the small one first thing  in the morning and the other in the late afternoon.  What does this say about my way of working?  Obviously I paint better when my brain isn't fully operative.
Some might say that is most of the time!

Paintings are of the salt pans and an old windmill at Trapani.

    

    

 

23 comments:

Vicki Holdwick said...

Hi Cathy,

I really like them both, but I have to agree the small one is my favorite.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I really like them both as well!

But the small one is more intriguing and interesting

Jane said...

Like other commenters, I agree that both pictures are great, but think too that the tiny one has something special about it - an elusive, almost mystical quality. Lovely.

E*phi said...

The second one is a perfect painting, but I too like the first one better. It's got that "something", that dreaminess and ... some special glow. It's awesome!

I often get a similar "effect" when drawing: I like the first careless sketch for its "swing/life" (?) and when I trace it with ink or color it etc. I end up finding the result worse and I regret having changed it.

Boud said...

I love the small painting, too. The composition is terrific.

martinepittet said...

I totally agree with the above comments: the dreamy, mysterious atmosphere in the tiny one is so appealing !! Both of them are worth a clap ! Well done !
Thanks for your comments on my blog! If you want to see close-ups of the sketches, go to Flicr and click on the picture, then, on the right hand side, click on "Afficher toutes les tailles" (all sizes)then choose the large or original ones.. and you can see them in details. Here's the link:
www.flickr.com/photos/martinepittet

Unknown said...

Me too...
The small one is magical. I would be surprised if anyone could duplicate it. Funny thing is though, if you had just put the large painting up I would have thought 'Amazing' because guess what it is AMAZING! There is a lovely feeling to the larger painting that could easily be overlooked with the small one being so special.
Stew.
stewcrowther.wordpress.com
_________________________

Unknown said...

The small one sets a mood for me while the larger one tells me what the place actually looks like.

Kristin Dudish said...

I think they're both wonderful! My guess is, that you needed to do the larger one in order to create the magic of the smaller one... Not only were you using leftover paint, you were using leftover memory (consciously or not) of your earlier painting - the results were fantastic!

xo
Kristin

Studio at the Farm said...

Hi Cathy. I loved the title of your post - too much thinking is definitely not good for me,either. The small work is so much more full of mood and feeling. It's beautiful! :)

Clare said...

I also like both paintings Cathy. The small painting tells a far more emotional story by what is left out of the picture. I like that most about it.

Melliott said...

With watercolor, it's as much about what you leave out as what you put in. I think that's what you are reacting to. Both paintings are good, but in the more finished one, you have carried all the lines out to the margins, and so the tower becomes less of a focal point as your eye is caught and led across by the horizontal mountains, banks and water. In the quick painting, everything is suggested, and the mind can fill in the rest; and because of the red roof and the shadows, the tower is the focal point, since it is most defined amidst the ethereal background. Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

I love both of them!!

Sandra said...

What an interesting study. I do like the little one a bit more.

debra morris said...

Like them both Cathy but have to agree the first one has a lovely dreamy quality

Anonymous said...

there is something quite special about the smaller one. Probably because you've remembered the most significant thing to you about that scene and it shows your emotional attachment to that moment. love it.

Anonymous said...

That tiny picture has such a mysterious and elusive feel - love it!

Joan said...

Like all the others, I like both paintings, but the small one is spontaneous and filled with mood. It's my favorite of the two. That first impression, putting down the paint comes without plan but from the inner artist, that soulful impression that can't be planned. This is really a good comparison showing how you and others react to two paintings of the same subject and why we all seem to lean toward the small one. A good lesson for all artists here.

Unknown said...

I prefer the simplicity of the little one &looseness

Stefano said...

You are so good in telling even a sory in two lines and a handful of washes. I prefer the smaller one because like the other one, tells a lot, but leaves also something in a dreamy state.
Lovely lovely!

Cheers

Alex said...

it's just so breathtaking :) thanks for the show

Koosje Koene said...

The top one is awesome, but I like them both! These are onderful colours you've used.

Unknown said...

It's the top one for me! It is a stunning wee piece of work! Well done!