This is a small watercolour of my (now ex), German girlfriend Frauke. ( It's 3 X 4 inches. Part of a small series I did a few years back. It's actually Pelican Watercolours and Dr. P.H. Martins Synchromatic Water Dyes. I love the vibrancy of those things. It's fairly simple, but I'll admit, I'm pleased with any watercolour that turns out at all, and doesn't look like some pastelly hippy bullshit.
It's always satisfying to accomplish what you're trying to illustrate with a minimum of effort, especially for myself, as I seem driven to elongate even the simplest of concepts. I usually work in acrylics. Watercolours (for me) are somewhat merciless to work with, which is probably why I don't take them on too often. Like saying something in Latin, if you plan on making any sense, you pretty much have to begin with the end in mind. There is no changing horses mid-stream, no reworking areas you've mistakenly built in the wrong hue, or made too dark. My trash runneth over with failed watercolours.
I suffer from the delusion that my watercolours should read as realistically as my acrylics do. More of a psychiatric disorder than an artistic philosophy, I settle for wasting tons of time and paper, hoping a few paintings might turn out nicely (as this one did). But while I work, it prevents me from letting the medium do what it does naturally, and best. I'm still working on last years Christmas card design. It's a watercolour, because, you know, they're so fast and easy.