"Along The Old Post Road" -- Painting Process

First Painting.

There was much that I liked in this version, but felt that it was too disjointed and did not create a simplified composition. 

My original inspiration looks nothing like this image, but what drew me was the strong contrast of light on the aspen trees against a very dark background, setting up interesting major masses.  In my execution, though, I realized that I could not create an interesting shadow mass that dark and began to explore other options.

I knew that there was something that was "not working" in this image, and decided to analyze it by looking at the image in gray scale.

  I compared the value pattern I created to that of a Master Artist, and found that my values were creating directional lines that did not form a cohesive whole.  Notice how the structure in Don Stone's painting is clearly indicated through the dark values.  He moves the eye through his painting with an elegance and confidence that I admire.

I tried to adjust my original painting.  In the process, I over-worked areas, scraped the paint back, tried to repaint with color choices that did not relate to the original plan, and definitely created worse problems for myself.

Now I had a "black hole" in the center of the painting, the color was muddy, and where the heck did that green come from?

This was due, in part, to not having a clear idea of what I wanted to accomplish, as far as defining the major masses, directional lines, or colors.  I should have stopped and worked out the problems in a sketch, but I failed to realize that the issues could not be fixed just by a few minor corrections or thoughtless color notes.

Eventually, I knew I had to stop fussing when I didn't have a solution.

Rather than frustrate myself further, I decided to take what I'd learned and apply it to a fresh canvas.  This time I prepared enough paint in the values and colors that I wanted, so that I wouldn't have to stop in the middle of the process and try to mix something else.  I worked through some of the compositional challenges ( I thought) and hoped I could recapture the freshness of the trees, particularly their shapes, and the way that the upper leaves were embedded into the sky color (ground) in a way that really appealed to me.  I felt that because of the earlier work, I had a better idea of what I was after and how to accomplish it.

Side by side images, half way through the second composition. I was relieved that I had been able to recapture most of the personality in the trees, and to duplicate the paint handing in the sky area.

I let this one sit overnight while I looked at some of my books on composition.  In the morning,  I realized that I had inadvertently set the new row of trees in a straight line, and had created too many visual traps to keep the eye locked in the foreground.

This is the version I put out for critique.  I received valuable feedback from a variety of opinions.  It's so helpful to me to have informed feedback from artists who understand the process and take the time to suggest ways in which a painting can be strengthened.

Admittedly, the color in this version appears less saturated than in the actual painting, but was close enough that I posted it as is, wondering what the feedback would be on the color contrasts as well as the overall composition.

There are the side by side comparisons of the two finished versions.  Yes, I went back and finished the first version on the left.  I really liked the composition, so I re-wet the areas I wished to work on with a mixture of OMS and poppy oil (recreates a wet-on-wet touch and keeps values accurate)

I also pushed the colors in version two.

This is version one.   

This is version two.