For me, painting is all about the light.  It's what attracts me to my subject matter and is the driving

When creating my paintings I look to Vermeer's work for examples of how to create powerful impact through the use of strong value contrast and rich colors.  Vermeer was a master at using composition to achieve drama.  By placing the lightest light in juxtaposition to the darkest dark he created a focal point with tension and excitement, while at the same time painting few noticeable details in the darkened or shadowed parts in order to distract the viewer's attention from those areas.
Click here to see Vermeer paintings

Vermeer's masterful use of bold colors also added to the power and impact of his paintings.  He was able to achieve intensely rich colors by applying many layers of thin translucent oil paint and using copious amounts of ultramarine, in particular.  He ground his blue colorant from lapis lazuli instead of the cheaper azurite used by most Dutch painters.  Vermeer's extensive use of this color gave a brilliance and luminosity to his work unlike any other painter of that time.  Not only can the color be seen in the blue objects themselves, but also in the shadowed and shaded portions of such things as fabric and foliage, and even in the incoming light of the sun as it flooded a room.  This technique of adding unusual color (especially blue) in unexpected places in order to create luminosity was unique to Vermeer and would not be seen again until the Impressionists used it centuries later. 

Although it is not the typical way of applying watercolors, it is possible to achieve the highly saturated colors of Vermeer in water medium as well, by applying layer upon layer of thin paint.  The key when doing this in watercolors is to be certain that each layer is completely dry before applying the next one, or the colors will mix and create a dreadful muddy effect.  Backyard Beauties is an example of using many layers of paint to achieve deep colors, as well as using strong contrast in values between light and shadow to achieve a powerful effect.  Most of the paints on my palette are transparent and semi-transparent, which enhances this slow build up in color intensity.