As I've mentioned before I have no experience with watercolour as a medium but I've become increasingly interested in its possibilities having seen just what's possible. So, anyway, I want to explore the way in which colours can be merged and figured that something like a ripe apple would make a decent subject:
With the best of intentions I spent almost no time drafting this drawing in pencil; just enough for a minimal outline and the position of the stalk. Then I set to work trying to layer up the colours in a sensible order: firstly this meant doing the whole apple in a background green colour. Then, once dry, I split the apple into three zones of dark green, green/red and deep red - each of these received several coats of what felt like the right tone with generous helpings of water to help the colours merge smoothly:
In practice this merging proved tricky with the paint tending to dry more quickly than expected with darker edges forming on all sides. Mostly I was able to remedy these with additional plain water but getting this right is a real skill. I also find that creating sufficiently intense colours is a real challenge; at the end I added paint more or less directly (without dilution) and I feel that this approach has merit. Unfortunately my ability to apply this without streaking is clearly a work in progress! None the less I like the vibrancy of this picture even if it is lacking in several areas.