River sketch

A tiny sketch from my walk this morning in my shiny new tiny (9x14cm) watercolour sketchbook. Initially I was just going to sketch the reflections and patterns in the ripples but added in the reeds and grasses at the last minute which is why the white line of the binding is showing. I used watercolour and watercolour pencil in both wet paint and on top of dry washes. I must remember to take a white oil pastel with me next time to use as a resist to get a bit more sparkle in the water. My handy grab and go sketching kit will be getting bigger it seems ;o)

Whilst I was sketching a swan glided past, he would have seemed most elegant if it wasn't for the long piece of weed trailing from his beak like spaghetti.