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Plein Air

This tree represents my first excursion out into the wild...ok, it's a tree at the elementary school around the corner. I could probably see this tree from my back patio if I wanted.
So I didn't travel far to capture this tree, but it represents a couple big steps in my watercolor journey. First of all, I've never done any sort of major painting outside. I set up my portable chair and did this whole piece start to finish over my lap (sometimes holding an umbrella in my other hand, due to the sporadic rain). I look forward to working like this more in the future.
Secondly, this is my first painting with watercolor pencils. I have had next to no experience with watercolor in pencil form. How much water can be used? How well do these things blend? How many layers of pigment can you get away with using? There's still a lot of unanswered questions, but I like the results.
Does my drawing/painting look like the tree I was looking at? Eh, kind of. The colors of the leaves/needles are too warm. The strokes that represent the foliage don't accurately describe the form of the tree. That trunk is pretty nice though. And, taken as its own thing, I'm pleased with how this turned out.

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