© Maria Bales 2002, 9 x 12", watercolour From the Artist: I'm not sure that Blue Landscape #1 is a monochromatic painting because I used three blues, not just one. They were Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, and Indigo. Take a look at the reworked version of this painting. You're invited to share your comments on this work in the Painting Forum.

Things to consider:
• Colour mixing: Rather than working together, the three blues seem to isolate the individual bits of the painting that have been painting on one blue, such as the rocks in the foreground. Take each of the blues and paint small blocks of each from dark (100% colour with very little water) to light to see the range of tones possible from each. Although Cobalt and Ultramarine Blue will never be as dark as Indigo, each still produces quite a range on its own.
• Brush marks: The leaves of the tree/bush on the lefthand side seem to be floating in the sky. It's trunk/stem where it goes behind the brush in front is hidden by the dark hill. There's a lovely crisp edge on the mountain/hill at the back where it's set against the sky, and gives the house a real sense of location.