The Coldest Day Ever, in Paris

I will never forget the day this picture was taken.  We were at a street market in Paris, and it was absolutely freezing.  So cold that even my warm blooded husband was wearing a hat and scarf, and that has happened maybe twice, ever.  So I used the temperature to guide my color choices for this painting, mainly my neutrals.  I started with a cobalt blue watercolor underpainting which turned out to be a great choice.  Then I layered black and some steel grays until I was able to put in the lights and brights.  

Check out the process:

I started with a pretty simple palette.  7 or 8 pastel sticks. You can see my test swatches of the color combinations below. I never use black in watercolors, but i think i will start incorporating it into my pastels more.  And a word about the foam brush on the left- it is the best one dollar I ever spent.  It gives the perfect smudge.  I am not a huge fan of blending, but this tool is great for just softening the edges or blurring a background.  It is also great for just brushing a whole section off if you need to start over. 

Here is the reference photo:

Here is my first attempt:

It is just ok.  The value pattern is good and the red is nice and bright.  But it looks like this flower stand is in outer space. Hmmm.  I let it sit like this on the easel for a few days and looked at it in between my 80 loads of laundry I do every week.

Second and I think final attempt below here.  I think it is done now.  I softened the background, and added more of a light source to the painting. Oh, and sort of gave the people faces.