Touch-up on Day 10 Painting

Yesterday's painting had a couple of little things that were bugging me: the weeds next to the road ended too abruptly, one willow bush in the center mid ground needed some darks and lights, the little fence posts needed adjusting, and the track of snow needed smoothing. I touched up the painting and the above image is of the finished painting. Can anyone tell the difference?

People often ask me the differences between oils and watercolors. The biggest difference is that with oils, you have the ability, the luxury of adding whites and lights last, on top. In transparent watercolor, in which I work, you always have to leave your whites and lights, therefore, thinking all the way ahead when you begin painting. I think this difference is very apparent in the cottonwood trees in the paintings from Glenn's ranch. I love the way the light branches in the oil painting seem to reflect the sunlight.

The next biggest differences are clean-up and drying time. Watercolor wins hands down on this one with using water to clean-up and having it dry almost immediately.

Another difference is the lovely way that the watercolor pigment flows and moves and blends on the damp paper. Very few artists can paint in oils and make it look like a watercolor.

Day 10 Mason Valley

Mason Valley (oil, 12" x 16") is the view driving out of Glenn's back yard. I particularly liked the tracks in the snow with the blue shadows, the fence post, and, of course, the cottonwood trees and willows. I painted for nearly three hours using Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, and, mostly, cerulean blue.

Days completed: 10

Days to go: 355