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Comment by kevin miller on October 7, 2015 at 3:55: Hello Michael,

I think your comments and suggestions are pretty much in line to what I was thinking I would need to do but needed a push from you and others. Thanks for the color suggestions, I will have to play with that before trying to finalize this one. I knew something was off there but just could not place my finger on it.

Thanks again to all.

Comment by Michael J. Severin on October 6, 2015 at 12:02: Hi Kevin. I agree with everyone's comments ...I especially agree with Ann ..you are trying to do or show to much. Too much emphasis on all of the elements. Okay, you said your sunlight is coming in from the left. Is your painting about the tree ..then like Ann suggests ...make it the star!! Now, your tree need to be much darker ..and warmer. The value of the tree should be darker then the value of the ground (in shade) .in this case ...much darker. Begin your tree foliage by painting a transparent dark ..then where indicate some warm light filtering through ..you can use mixtures of burnt sienna and orange ..or some kind of warm. Then paint your green foliage starting with your darkest greens (warm and cool), and layering gradually lighter. Indicate leaves only at the edges. Your tree trunks would be warm dark ...but reflected cool greens and blues ..plus ..reflected warms will bounce into it. Make some grays with viridian and red or burnt sienna ..that will keep them within your color harmony. Joy's B and W shows that your values are too close ..as she points out. Now, you really cannot make the light lighter ...it is too far away from your focal point ..the tree ..so as I suggested ..the tree must become much darker!!! ...the light will then pop due to simultaneous contrast. Oh, reflect some warmer greens into the water. When you make your tree holes, negatively paint your branches. Without seeing your original scene .and not knowing what you are trying to say ..it is very difficult for any of us to really give you nailed down advice ....but, hope our suggestions help. :))

Comment by kevin miller on October 6, 2015 at 5:35: Thanks Ann. I am going to let it sit for a bit and then readdress later. I was getting too amped up about it and I tend to do dumb things when I get like that.

Comment by kevin miller on October 6, 2015 at 5:33: Hello Joy. I totally agree. It is amazing though how misleading the use of color can be when associated with value. It has been something I have been struggling with since I started to learn oil painting a year ago. It just never ceases to amaze me.

Comment by Ann Turner on October 5, 2015 at 12:43: There is alot going on here. My eyes hop around to all the elements and then back again. Could you find a way to simplify the areas and then emphasize the focal? The stone wall is purplie like the tree and then on the other side its a warmed grey, try to harmonize the area by bringing some warm into it. Your tree trunk blends with the wall on the right. Make the tree the star. Just some ideas that you can think about but first don't look at it for awhile and then try when your frustration has settled. You are a talented artist and I enjoy your paintings so enjoy the process

Comment by kevin miller on October 5, 2015 at 9:06: Maybe it is an adjustment of color. I went with a bit lighter but more neutralized background grass color closer to an ochre mix.

Comment by kevin miller on October 5, 2015 at 8:57: Better or worse? I just need to let this go but I can't.

Comment by kevin miller on October 5, 2015 at 7:40: Maybe also adding larger brushstrokes in the tree canopy. I don't know....I should stop staring at this as it is really beginning to annoy me.

Comment by kevin miller on October 5, 2015 at 7:31: Thank you for the comment Sarah. It is funny but the "wall" you refer to is actually the stream bank but now that I look at this is does sort of look like a stone wall! Anyway, the challenge is in the tonality of the painting and the value shapes. I need more differentiation somewhere and somehow. The water, particularly the reflections, should be the darker element since most times reflections are darker than the objects they are reflecting so the wall cannot really go darker. I do think I need to move some of the pinkish colors over to the right of the tree even though this was in shadow. The challenge is in the tree canopy and the background grass. I think there needs to be more darker greens in the tree canopy but I am not sure. If you want to better see my concern, turn this image into a black and white and you will see how similar the shapes are in contrast. Michael is going to jump on this I am sure and I thought I could head him off but I am stuck!! Haha

Also, the photograph (from an iphone) is not helping me on the background grass colors. It is not matching up with my painting.

Comment by Sarah Bottjer on October 5, 2015 at 7:01: I think that the wall needs to go much darker in order to show up the sun lit field but I only say this after reading your comment . It is very nice as it is.