Morning by the river

I've been drawing for a long time. Mostly with pencils. It takes some skill to attain good results, but with pencil points, control is a matter of dexterity and focus. The medium is very direct, and results are predictable. I sort of know what I'm doing.

Watercolor, I'm finding, has put me humbly at the bottom of what looks to me like a very long learning curve. Spilling dyed water onto a piece of paper, pushing it around with floppy brushes and trying to control the outcome? Pretty different set of challenges, not the least of which seems to be letting go of the idea that I can be totally in charge.

Out in the woods this morning, balancing a pad of watercolor paper on my knees, it occurred to me that in that sense, it's kind of like adult life.

14 x 10, Windsor & Newton cake watercolors