The Q

The Q at Lonsdale Quay is a prominent feature of the North Vancouver waterfront.  It would probably be really annoying if you had a thing against Q's.  I don't, but I had still never drawn it before today.  I went down to the adjacent pier to do a painting in the "Realistic Abstract" style: based on a real scene, but with much of the interest coming from the paint itself - the shapes, colours, patterns, composition.  It was an immediate disaster - a crumple-up-and-throw-in-the-ocean disaster (except that I took it home to the well-used crumpled-up-paper recycling).  So I reverted to my pen-and-watercolour standard.  Then at home I tried again for a more abstract version based on my memory of the scene.  It's much simpler, but still far more to the "realistic" end of the scale than I intended (except for the horrible white "reflections" in the water).  Practice, practice, practice...