First Art Piece Of 2026 Finished! - "Sunrise Over The Marsh"

So I held true to my New Years thoughts and ambitions ..

And finally finished one of those watercolor paintings.. That had been sitting unfinished for far too long. I wish I could say it felt completely satisfying, but the truth is I do not really like how it turned out. Maybe I rushed it or maybe I am just rusty, but what I envisioned as loose and fluid ended up feeling tight and full of hard lines. The more I looked at it, the more it felt very very novice, and I found myself wondering if I was being overly critical or simply honest with myself.

It's sitting at the top left hand corner - Unfinished sunrise watercolor painting

At the very end, while taking the final photo and signing the piece.. I actually laughed and thought to myself this is probably why you left it unfinished in the first place. Still, despite all of those thoughts, I do feel accomplished. The goal was to create something, and that happened, even if my personal critiques are louder than I would like them to be. Sometimes the act of finishing is the real victory.

'Sunrise Over The Marsh'

4.5" X 7.5" - Watercolor Painting

The Process ..

Either way I am looking at it, I wanted to walk you through the process, because there is always something to learn from both the frustrations and the missteps.

I started right where I had left off, with a partly finished sunrise and absolutely no foreground to speak of. From there I sketched in an area of tidal water, something similar to a marsh or what you might find in bay areas near the ocean. I used various shades of blue and purple to loosely map this out and incorporated watercolor pencils along with mixed paints rather than relying on paint alone.

Next I began shading in lighter and darker tones, especially near the horizon, trying to build some depth. At that point I realized I was not happy with the overall cropping of the piece, so I trimmed it down to a one to one ratio, hoping that would help the composition feel more intentional.

After that I worked on the edges of the marsh grass, trying to define them just enough while adding some texture. I also pulled some of the pinks and yellows from the sky down into the water surface to help tie everything together. I then darkened the water reflections and marsh grass even further, and this is where I really started to feel like I might be making more mistakes than improvements. It was becoming clear that more work was needed, but I was no longer confident in the direction.

I decided the piece needed stronger dark shading everywhere except where the sunlight was centered. I wanted the eye to be drawn to that single focal point, with everything else supporting it by being slightly darker. Even then, I still was not happy with the overall shape, so I cropped the piece again, eliminating about an inch of sky. At the same time I softened the water and grass areas, letting the shape of the waterway take on more of a visual role.

Using a black watercolor pencil, I added contrast to suggest grass or salt hay, then went back over those areas with a damp brush to darken and soften the edges. I also added a few darker clouds in front of the already existing pink clouds, in order to add some contrast and darken the sky a little.

For the final, at least I think final, steps I added highlights in the sky, water, and along the grass edges using white oil paint. Once it fully dried I added just a bit more reflection using green and purple tones so the water, right along the front edges to create the visual effect of marsh grass reflections.

For now though, I am calling it done. I will take what I learned from this piece and move on to something new. I would like to try a similar scene again, but using a few new techniques I recently read about in one of my art books. I really like using water colors, but I need a TON of practice.

Frustrations and successes really are just two sides of the same process..

And sometimes finishing something imperfect is exactly what is needed to move forward.

Hope You Enjoyed The Process!

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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