Tones and Negative Shapes

  Tones again? Yes, 'fraid so. These little class demo's were done very quickly. I did the monotone one first. I often do this before I work in colour. It helps me to focus on the design, and the way that light affects the scene. You'll notice a little sun, at top right, which helps me to remember the direction of the light source.
  I then did a colour sketch of the scene. Light washes were applied first. Once dry, I then painted those dark, background, negative shapes. 'Negative' spaces are those that exist around the subject we are painting. They can be very useful, especially in watercolour. It's that dark area which throws the boat shape forwards. If I'd placed the boat against a bright sky, it would almost disappear into the background.