You know in the winter it can get pretty drab with all the rain, snow, clouds and wind and I choose this photograph on a day that was both rainy and cold. You can certainly tell where my head was can't you?

Painting palm trees is a something new for me. I don't think I effectively painted this one but I did get the shadow right! Maybe next time I should concentrate on the tree instead of the shadow. But that brings me to the subject of getting the values correct in a painting. Those of you who've followed this blog know I've been struggling with this issue almost from the beginning. One of my followers, Krys Pettit, watercolorist extraordinaire, recently commented that as I move further along in my knowledge of watercolor I'll realize that value contrast is the name of the game. This painting proves that completely.

Standing back from this painting I realize that the shadow value makes such a big difference here. Also the color of the sky. I should have gone back and re-glazed the sky one more time to get a darker hue. Just not enough contrast between it and the ocean. I like the feel of the painting. At least it gives me a 'warm' feeling especially on those cold days!