Here's another of the five paintings that I've started in the past week. I consider it one of the best starts so far. It's big and bold. I like the composition.

With minor tweaking--mostly, adding more color to increase color density and saturation--it's nearly done. (I'm still deciding how much to soften the edges.)

I'm painting it from memory using a few reference photos.

After I finished my foggy morning sketch a few weeks ago, I lingered in the park and kept taking photos as the sun emerged.

One composition leaped out at me, and I knew that I wanted to paint it, but the sun was burning through the fog too quickly.

The original photo for this painting is at the left. For my work, I've cropped it and made some obvious composition changes.

Mostly, after some minor (and slightly demoralizing) trial-and-error, I've realized that horizontal compositions are easier for me. So, since my current goal is to have about a dozen completed paintings for my upcoming show, I'll save challenging compositions for later. Most of my current pieces will be horizontal designs.

This painting--with maybe an hour's work in it--is hanging in my living room right now. I keep looking at it, affirming that I really can paint big and bold and like what I do. I'm pleased.

Three Trees / oil painting on canvas / 22" x 28"

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