I came back to this reference today to put into practice some things that I have been reading about. Slightly different crop this time. I’m much happier with this version and feel that I am beginning to make a breakthrough with bringing my foregrounds forward and pushing back the background. The tree also seems to have more substance and I feel a lot happier about its structure. Sketching priorities for the next few days is to do some work on trees. I am also very happy that there is a feeling of early evening to this piece. I do need to work on my brushstrokes more, looking at other artist’s work I’m aware of what a difference the use of different strokes makes to a piece.

I’ve been trying to find a picture by Sargent that I had seen a while back (dining table with silver dishes on it) – if anyone knows the one I mean I would be very grateful if you could give me a URL. Its been driving me crazy not being able to find it!

New Year’s Resolution 8 – Practice techniques.