Of all the pieces that I have done recently, this is the one that speaks to me the most. Perhaps it’s because this is the first piece where I felt more playful with my watercolors — not only in terms of mixing, but also the application.

I wanted to capture the magic of this little covered area in Pari, which often acts as a chimney for a breeze on the hottest summer days there. This is also the first piece where I didn’t feel apprehensive with the watercolor in terms of being afraid of accidentally ruining the piece that I had already created with the inking.

I also realized that brushes definitely do matter. I never would have been able to create the water-worn effect on the cobble stones without my Tintoretto mop brushes — the other brushes that I used would have been too stiff and lifted too much color, or would have dropped the water at the wrong time and washed the piece out completely.

After more than a year of experimenting, mostly through trial and error, I finally feel as though I can “play” more with the watercolor. I also feel like I have a better handle on mixing neutrals and earth tones, which require one to blend complements and work beyond simply primary, secondary, and tertiary color combinations.