Summer Abstract: Stage 2

Summer Abstract 2025 
Watercolor & Ink 13"x15"

 In stage 2 of the watercolor and ink abstract, I add color session by session, after trying the hues out on a scrap piece of watercolor paper.  This stage is when I do the most thinking. I do not touch the drawing with new ideas until I am 100% sure that is the direction I want to take.

The best approach at this stage is to make sketches, cut them out in the shape of where they will go in the drawing, and then put the sketch over that spot in the drawing to try them out. Some are good, some aren't and are tossed. 

I usually have the line inked before I add color. There is a flexibility in adding the lines after the color that this drawing can benefit from because there will be a slight Trompe l'oeil element in the drawing. 

How do I know when the drawing is going in the wrong direction? The story the image reveals tells me if it represents my vision. In abstracts, other ideas can emerge. I have to stick to my core focus for the drawing to be what I want it to be. 

In landscape drawings, what you see is there. Elements can be adjusted to create a good composition. In abstracts, the landscape is in the brain's imagination. I have to create what my brain wants to see using lines and hues.

Digital photos are a help as they will reveal the tiniest blooper. Thankfully in watercolors, a run over can be removed or covered by ink.

Summer Abstract 2025 detail