Rainy Night in New Orleans Watercolor Painting
Watercolor on Arches cold press 140lb paper. 11×14″. 2012.
After a failed first painting and all those studies, this is where it took me. I am pretty happy with the end result, and so is my client 
. A couple of lessons learned:
- When venturing out to paint an unfamiliar subject (and I’ve never been to New Orleans, as of today, or painted rainy nights. I have painted IN THE RAIN though) – when painting something new, it is a very good idea to do some studies. Duh!
- When stuck, ask for advice. Also obvious, but I’m one of those people who’d rather get lost than ask for directions. I reached out to people in the EDM group and my fan page on Facebook, and the feedback was extremely helpful.
- In addition to getting myself more familiar with the subject, the studies allowed me to try out color schemes and moods and kind of search my heart to figure out what I wanted out of this painting. I think the end result is fairly close to my initial vision.
- I need to paint more (and I could put the period here) scapes. Streetscapes, landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes. For a while now, I’ve had the idea of a painting project in my mind, something focused on landscapes. Maybe 30 days of landscapes. Or a landscape a week…if only I could rely on my kids to sleep simultaneously (which they never do, except at night).
In case you are wondering why I didn’t sign this painting, I was asked not to do it on the front. The painting will be a part of a wall collage along with other artworks, illustrating events from the client’s life. I guess the signature would be distracting or something…I’m very curious to see it when it’s done.
So, what do you think about it?
Amazing, Perfect! Stupendous!
I still really like the others too…. This has a party feel to it…. very appropriate. Thanks for sharing your process…. it is nice, as an artist still trying to master techniques, to see that there are many ” failures” before getting it just the way you want it. Congratulations!
Thank you Sheila! Do you have a blog?
Yevgenia! I love it!
As you know I’m no artist by a far shot but I love the colors you picked and how your captured a still snapshot of a lively, loud, scene. Do you ever have artshows? I haven’t kept up with your work but would love it see if you ever do. 
Congrats!!! Keep up the good work!
Glad you like it Karis! Also glad to hear from you
. I do have shows once in a while. As a matter of fact, my next show opens on September 8 here in the high desert. Probably a bit too long of a drive for you, especially since the opening is in the evening. Where are you these days?
Really enjoy your final result. Great work!
Stay inspired!
Thank you Michelle!
I love the way the coloours flow – beautiful!
Thanks Margaret!
Love it!! Seems more intentional while still being loose, and no awkward spots. I like how you hint at the lighted signs. Really good work!!
Thank you Linda! It’s hard for me to put my paintings into words – but you expressed the spirit of this one very precisely. It looks like some kind of controlled looseness is what I was shooting for.
Wow! You should be happy with it. Your experiments paid off!
Thank you Kristi! I think an artist is never completely happy with their work, but I can say I am reasonably happy
Experimenting was fun!