I decided to loosen up my painting and I’m glad I did. In order to break out of the tightness that had been weighing me down a bit, I figured I would change the scene a bit, so I painted from my imagination instead of the picture. I like the way the trees frame on the left and right – but I was too timid with the tree on the left, and it got muddy again. I also wanted the perspective to still be of the viewer on the road, but I elevated the sketch and it didn’t quite work out.

I went with Cerulean for the sky, and back to Yellow Ochre at the horizon, just thinner this time. That helped a lot. I also tried to leave the clouds alone and I like that effect much more.

The shadow on the right side of the road feels wrong – it should be brighter there, not darker.

I also played with dragging the pigment with a palette knife to give the impression of branches, and the distant fence. I like that effect, and will experiment more with it. I also like the blues in the grass those cool tones give pretty effortless shadows. I am glad I finally learned to leave them alone.