Watercolor underpainting for Morning on the River

(Note: I’m having problems with multiple pictures in one post, so I’ll do this with four posts. I’ll also be able to say more about each.)  After doing the color studies in my last post, I decided to use my last 20 x 20 UArt board for this painting.  On Tuesday, I had a conversation with my class about how it can be difficult to move from a small study to a large painting. What works small doesn’t always work large.  That could be the theme of this painting! As I worked on the underpainting, I decided that there would be too much water, so I added reeds in the lower right corner.  I was also concerned about the prominence of the dark tree, but thought it would be OK once I developed it.  I worked from a black and white photo taken in mid-summer when all was green. It was also early morning, so most of the foliage was dark. My goal was to make this into a warmer painting so I began with a warm underpainting of majentas, siennas, and turquoise.  I applied a lot of watercolor, but it still faded, leaving uneven bands of really dark and light, particularly in the lower left. But I felt I had established a flow and had some color to work on top of.  So far, so good!