Tea House and Pond

Teahouse and Pond
Watercolor on paper
8"x10"
Chris Breier © 2016

This painting is from the same trip that I mentioned in my previous post about the watercolor titled "Porch". This was the first painting that I worked when we arrived at Sonnenberg Gardens. After viewing the Japanese Tea House from a variety of angles I felt the best view was from on top of a hill in front of the pond. I set my tripod and paintbox on the hill, and it was a precarious situation. The ground was uneven and there were tree roots to contend with. If I wasn't careful I could knock my tripod and painting into the pond! I also had a bug trying to bite my leg within the first five minutes of setting up.

Painting outdoors conjures up romantic notions of a relaxing afternoon of fresh air and sunshine. While painting outdoors can be relaxing, it can sometimes be very challenging. There are bugs, extreme weather, forgotten supplies, rambunctious dogs, a host of distractions, and constantly changing light. I'm not complaining though. In fact, these are the reasons why I paint outdoors-the challenges force me to paint in bold and direct manner. There's no time for procrastination.

For this reason, most of the paintings that I have completed outdoors have a more impressionistic style than the ones I complete in the studio. The brushstrokes are spontaneous and bold which works well with the tea house and Japanese Gardens. Click the following link to purchase "Tea House and Pond". Prints of this painting are also available.