I started working on the right hand side of the paper next. I stayed aware of what objects go “on top” of other objects. Meaning that I painted background details in layers, then covered edges of them with objects in the foreground. Gradually I built up the color, patterns and textures on the right side of the painting. I reserved some objects, such as the light poles and trees for example, for later… so they go “on top” of the buildings.

The color reflections in the Canton Bazaar sign didn’t make much sense to me, but I stuck to the photo and I’m glad I did. It looks much more realistic with the reflection being green, red and black squiggles. This is an example of where it’s important to pay close attention to the details.

At this point I was a nervous wreck over my painting. I had spent so many hours on it already, making a mistake was always in the back of my mind. Watercolor is not the most forgiving medium. In fact it’s very difficult to change things once the paint is down. About this time, I managed to flick a big spray of green paint into the middle of my sky. These things happen despite your best efforts to control your paint! Over the span of a couple of days, I was able to slowly and carefully remove the paint and touch up my sky. My success gave me confidence that I could fix any other “boo-boos” that occurred. (And yes, there were a few!)

Next, I began to paint the intricate light posts. The sunlight varied the colors a little, but for the most part I was able to use the same greens and reds for all 12 light posts. I also started tying all the areas together by painting in the sidewalks, trees and other miscellaneous objects and people throughout the painting.

To be continued…