Trying out mixed media

I experimented some more with mixed media yesterday and came up with this small sketchy watercolour of another scene from Cromford village where my painting holiday is happening in less than three weeks time.  I took the photo in June when there were lots of wild flowers in full bloom.  The walk down to the village from the hotel was a delight with all sorts of wild and cultivated flowers, escapees from local gardens, along the side of the path through the cottages and their allotments.

I saw this scene with the sun coming through the gap in the wall and saw the potential for a watercolour.

My mixed media sketch

My Photo reference

You can see that I've "romanticised" the view a bit, and changed the lighting to put emphasis on the light coming through the gap.  I've used inks and pastels which are new to me, but which have been lying about in the studio for ages so I thought why not have a go.

Here are the different stages. I started with an all over wash as usual but I had masked out the tops of the walls and some flowers, and also used some oil pastel as a masking medium for saving the flowers at the front of the wall.  

Stage 1

Then I painted the wall, vaguely following the under drawing, with acrylic ink, and spreading it with a brush and water.

Stage 2

Then more work with watercolour, inks and a pen made out of a piece of bamboo cane from the garden.

Stage 3

Finished Sketch

As is often the case in my work, I almost prefer the next to last stage to the finished.  What do you think?