by Susan Latreille

This is my final submission for July’s World Watercolour Month Challenge with EmJ Lefebvre, days 29 to 31.

29 – Creating a landscape following the basic rules of thirds and leading lines.

30 – Recreating the landscape of July 29th in a monotone, concentrating on values to give depth and perspective. To help understand the concept of values, Emma suggested taking a photo of the July 29th painting, converting it to B&W, and using that as the study for the monotone painting.

31 – There was no actual lesson on the last day of July during a livestream where Emma answered questions about any of our painting problems. Her challenge to viewers was to paint something/anything using our most favourite and least favourite lessons. I loved the underpainting lesson, so I created a still life using that technique for most of the fruit while incorporating some dry brushing, which I find quite challenging.

I found this month of painting every day very fulfilling, and I thank you all for bearing with my often very amateurish attempts at creating with watercolour. There is so much to learn and so much fun to be had along this journey, and I thank Robin Patterson for introducing me to the craft. In many ways this hobby has become my saviour – when I sit down to paint, I become immersed in this new world, and the rest of the world and its troubles disappear for a while.    

If you need inspiration or a boost, I can highly recommend EmJ Lefebvre’s watercolour tutorials. Or search the internet to find a creative artist in the medium of your choice. There are many free lessons available on YouTube channels. It took me several tries before I landed on Emma’s page, where I feel that I’ve found the perfect fit for the stage that I’m at in my artistic life.

Ed. Thank you Susan for sharing your journey with thoughtful commentary and so many images!