This is the second update on my latest Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18″ x 24″), and I’ve made some progress along the way.  I enjoy serializing my paintings, as it helps me understand both the process and the painting as I describe it, plus I can look back and see the painting’s development over time.

After my initial sketch on the canvas over a coat of white paint, I used an acrylic watercolor wash for the first time to set the sketch, and it worked out very well.  Without setting the sketch, the graphite pencil lines smudge easily, and while on earlier paintings I lightly painted over the lines with white paint, it made the lines difficult to see clearly.  So this watercolor wash is a new technique I’ve developed that seems to work very well for me.  Perspective and architectural lines don’t come naturally for me, so I need to at least have a rough sketch to follow to paint from.  I rarely stick precisely to the guide though, but it’s a crutch that helps me quite a bit! 🙂

You can see the difference in the watercolor wash in the middle of the painting, and especially in the last photo where only the sky and mountains are finished.  My next challenge is to fill in the front details of the cottages, as well as the stones of the bridge and bridge cottage, then I’ll fill in the space between the mountains and the Castle Hamlet with a forest, and flower gardens along the river! 🙂

Artwork-in-Progress ~ Castle Hamlet (18″ x 24″)

(Copyright 2016, Mark D. Jones, All Rights Reserved)