Back to class!

I missed my watercolor class last week, and the instructor kindly agreed to meet me half an hour early to show me the techniques I had missed.  I took copious notes and watched as she held a phantom brush and made the strokes in the air.  If you remember from my post three weeks ago, at the end of the first week her demonstration painting looked like this -

By the end of the second week the ocean and foreground were in place - this is what I missed and need to create on my painting.

I wanted to practice straight away, but by then the other students had arrived and it was time for class.  We covered brush stokes for grass and various kinds of palm trees before Graciella completed her "ongoing picture" -

She commented that our task was not to make a perfect composition - in fact we should not be thinking about our efforts as "paintings".  Our purpose was to learn the techniques and then, later, the pictures would "come".

My efforts during the class practice time were not very successful - I'm having difficulty mixing the paint to the proper consistency and making the correct types of stroke with my brush -- we're using a 1.5 inch flat brush and using "the belly of the brush".

I've got lots of work to do this week. I've tried Googling for some extra resources, but haven't found any good hits - just some YouTube videos.  I need to rely on my notes and carefully rehearse each stroke.  I'll keep you posted!