Hope's Art Journey

Occasionally, I have a painting that doesn't quite please me over time.  I painted "Palms on Mainline Road" about 2 years ago.  The one on the far left is that original image.  I loved the scene on this rural, swampy road but most especially I loved the creek bottom which can be very orange.  With the inclusion of the reflection of the palms, it is quite interesting.  As I looked at the painting though, I felt there was too much green and that the shadows were uninteresting and vague.

The second view is a revision where I added reds and browns to the shadows and took out the two small palms at the top.  I also added more color to the grasses and dead palm fronds.  I made the shadow areas darker.  The sky is a brighter, more aqua blue and then I added the clouds.  This had been very successful in another vertical palm painting.  However, the more I looked at them, the less I liked them.

The 3rd and final revision was a ton of work painting around the palms to get the sky right.  I decided to cut under the top palm to create a focal point.  The sky color matches the rest of the scene better.  I also greyed (blue-grey) some of the shadowed palms and accentuated the light areas of the palms and palmettos.  In the end, the question was what to put at the top right of the painting.  It clearly needed something to keep the eye in the painting.  I nixed another palm and decided on the tree branch of a variety that is seen in that area.  I livened areas in the shadows with a metallic bronze but did not use much of it. 

Bottom line is that the painting is what it is - a busy mass of palms with lots of green.  I do feel it is more interesting now but might have saved myself time and worry if I had just done something different with those clouds!