OK, Deep breath! Lets use a quarter sheet of really good 300 lb. watercolor paper. You are worth it!
Draw in just the miniumum of what you need to work with. Simplify everything, then look at the dark and light black and white photos to add only the details that mean the most to you.
I got excited about the light on the ground and the way you see one pair of legs under an umbrella that is ahead of the pink one. And then there are squiggly reflections of those legs on the wet pavement.
Take each umbrella slowly, painting the right and left thirds, them moving on to an umbrella that does not touch it so that it can dry before you come back and do that critical middle third. The light section on the top of each third is what makes it look real and taut, but the umbrella are not all lit equally.
I am not good at painting ruffles, so I mostly symbolized them with dark pink and black shadows around the edge of the pink umbrella. I could have left them off entirely, but they add character.
I got couragous and made one umbrella plaid, like in the photo. The light did not turn out as well on it as on the other umbrellas, but it makes a nice inturruption in the long row of umbrellas.
I'm very happy with the way this turned out. Since it is not Texas Hill Country, I will post it on ebay.
