Entering the Painting

                           
                                                        Hendrick's Head Beach

There are several ways that the viewer enters the painting space.  First, a pure color that stands out.  In this case, the lighthouse roof is red and is not repeated, so it grabs attention.  

Second is value contrast. The trees on the far shoreline are dark near the lighthouse's white.  

Third, pointers help the eye travel towards the lighthouse.  The wall curves around the foreground and mid-ground and ends up pointing at the lighthouse.  The clouds also seem to point down at the lighthouse.  And obviously, again, the treeline slopes down to the lighthouse.  

I also try to keep the viewer's eyes away from corners at first, so I try to find ways to eliminate light shapes there.  The foreground shadow was put there for that purpose.

This was Day 1 of my 2019 Watercolor Workshop in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  More to come!