In tribute to Joaquin Sorolla...

As I mentioned we studied some of Sorolla's work in watercolor class.
Most of the times I try the subject before class so that my demo, when I do it, will have a plan to follow. Painting and talking at the same time is a complicated thing specially in front of others who might be commenting and questioning what you do at the same time. In particular for me who prefer to paint from life with concentration, exploring my way through the work rather than to copie from documents. Concentration and emotion are a huge part in painting and it's difficult to make others understand this, just as how important drawing is. The more you draw the more creative you become, and the more you understand of what you see and are going to paint. As a result of it all, you can maybe with time and practice, get a bit more spontaneous painting with watercolor.
I see the work from documents as an exercise for my students; they draw some, they learn to mix colors and to find solutions for watercolor effects wet in wet or with glazing. But this is not enough for a painter, one should also learn to draw and paint from life, once they understood how to apply the water and the pigments on the paper. Above all we should have in mind that the process of learning how to paint with watercolor is long, this might help when we are in difficulties...