Making Deliberate Decisions

When you take photos to use later for painting you may be falling back on a kind of automatic decision making, such as placing the horizon or a center of interest right in the middle of the page, like this;

Abstract painters are not immune to falling back on default compositions,  such as the ubiquitous offset cross (see below):

We are all influenced to some extent by the presence of the reference photo, as if its colors, values,  edges and complexity are the "real " ones. Even if they were accurate there is no obligation for you to duplicate the settings as you perceive them. The photo is just a jumping off place. 

Here are some images that display engaging features of the watercolor medium. Choose one. Your job is to interpret the color, value, composition, edge quality and complexity by asking whether these variables satisfy you. Every feature of your interpretation is adjustable. Keep a sheet of practice paper nearby. Invent, explore, decide. A painting is the result of asking "What if"? Make your decisions deliberate.