Summer Project 2 - Exploration

I did say that I would not embark on any more big projects, but here I am already. I decided to go back over holiday photos (two things I've decided to do to look for inspiration: go back through my collection of photos, and use my Pinterest pins and likes), and I found a detailed view of an interesting bridge and rocks near the Gap of Dunloe.

So I'm trying to apply the idea of drawing thumbnails to decide on composition and values. But of course I got distracted and started adding colour straight away.

What I really liked I remember wasn't so much the bridge, but the water, the reflections and the jumble of rocks. And yet, when I try to just focus on the rocks, it doesn't really seem to work, they just appear unconnected, floating in the water. But all these little thumbnails didn't take long, so I feel I haven't wasted too much time. What I should try now is simplify the shapes and draw them in such a way that they appear as one shape rather than a rock floating here and a rock floating there, with a bit of water in between.

Here I tried to boost the colours a bit (just used the same colours with less water). But the shapes are still too disjointed. Next, I'll go back to a black and white thumbnail.