Another realization

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I realized that when I see a completed watercolor by another artist, I judge it for what it is - composition, subject, technique, and of course, the impact on me of the overall painting. Without being able to see their direct subject, or reference material, I only have the art to look at and have an opinion on, since there is nothing else to compare it with. With my own work, however, whether or not I did justice to the subject is a huge part of the overall feeling I have. Lack of objectivity for the painting is bad enough without this added parameter of comparison to the subject. I cannot forget the subject. Only time will slowly fade it away, and perhaps that is part of the magic that happens when an erstwhile not-great painting starts to look not-bad.

I pass by this building occasionally and am always struck by the darks - almost like a black and white scene devoid of color, other than the flag. I didn't want to use black and wanted to make my own, so attempted this en plein air, and finished it at home as I only had 45 minutes there, not to mention how treacherously I was located in the parking lot, in my little red chair.
It is okay. I think I'd like to do it again. I took pictures. Perhaps I should focus on the left half, where the deep darks under the steel beams interact with the fine railing, and the contrast is more interesting than the boxy shapes in the right half.


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