Second lesson

My second watercolor lesson with Penny was supposed to be an outdoor session, but the evil Dutch weather gnomes had other plans. Instead, we stayed inside her studio and pored over glossy photos of Dutch landscapes. I chose one of a stream by the woods (how precious!), not knowing that the big swathe of water was going to be tricky for a beginner like me.

Penny had a big group that day, five students, of which I was the only one below sixty. Seriously. I seem to have this knack for gravitating to all the geriatric hotspots. It must be the little old lady inside me. Anyway, I found myself getting huffy as I was painting because I felt I was largely being ignored. So I just went ahead painting with big, loose, and somewhat reckless strokes.

I was so put out that I almost forgot to be pleased with the afternoon's work.

There are problems with the perspective (I didn't bring out the bend of the stream quite too well) and shading of the tree trunks, but Penny seemed really pleased with it. "And it's only her second lesson!" she exclaimed, patting me on the hand. It was a departure from the careful, precise work of my classmates, off in a direction that I'm really liking. Looks like my days of obsessive detail are over.