Pay attention in class, Tommy...
Don't you just hate it when you're beautiful painting starts to suck eggs? Mine did, but I am determined to learn like a pro. That is why I am sharing this blog with you. Pros and Cons steps to learn by:
Cons:
Paint the colors you are using, by section/step on a scrap paper next to your painting. This way you can make sure the colors and values are correct and blend together nicely. Notice the greens and the salmon colors don't play nicely together?
I had to lift-off the green building on the left because the hue and value were all wrong (to dark). They're Crap, Crap, Crap, Mega Crap.
I learned this time how to start painting washes! Bad news is that I learned it half-way through the painting... Crap, Crap, Ultra Crap. Practice for easy success!
Black flag poles don't work. Uck! Crap, Crap, Supreme Crap!
Be very careful to never have to clean up your mistakes too much. If you have to the painting has already failed. Bummer in the Summer.
I fought with the sky. See my solution down below. Damn, Damn, Damn Damn.
Do not get so tempted to ever use yellow in your clouds. If you do you will use too much, guaranteed. Use only a Nano-drop of yellow. You still may need to lift off paint like I did. Just don't use it. My yellow was to lemony too. Make it warm yellow not a cool yellow. The golden hour has golden clouds.
And that statue in the middle... What was I thinking?
Pros:
Once you know how to do washes and understand how they work, this will open up your paintings to smooth, colorful transitions in skies and buildings!
Sometimes, when painting a sky, consider flipping the painting upside down and performing the sky wash that way. Then the dark pigment will naturally want to go to the top! Chien Chung Wei does it that way.
Notice the lines of bricks on the left building? At first the detail was to exact and Chien's painting was not. How did he do it? With one or two swipes of a "wet-brush" the detail/hard lines go away! My lines were too regular and not random enough so that is still a fail.

Bill, Look away... I'm hideous...