Exploring the Landscape

I am just beginning to explore the art of painting landscapes in watercolor. What a special way to notice all of the beautiful colors and unique and interesting shapes in the landscape...the pinks and purples in the evening sky, the unlimited shades of green in each plant and tree, the shape of that special group of trees or mountain range. Painting these elements in watercolor is indeed a journey in which I am learning how I want to depict these elements and how the medium of watercolor helps with this. I love the way the colors merge and often the surprise of how this happens on its own. My paintings have been described as soft or gentle and this seems to be my approach to watercolor painting. I feel that the artist should not paint every tree, branch and leaf, but try to convey to the viewer the feeling of being in the landscape and then just add enough key details to keep the viewer involved.