1) I've begun the painting on stretched, 14" x 22" canvas toned with a mixture of yellow ochre and raw sienna. While the background tint is still wet, I've begun the scene with a number 6 sable round and a wash of mauve blue shade and raw umber.

2) Here the color has been roughed in. Not caring too much for detail, I'm looking to block in the color and value areas so that the composition can come forward.

3) In this stage the details begin to get some attention — trees get branches, the rock wall now contains individual rocks and the structure of the building's roof gets some attention. While I spent a lot of time on the fence, I still wasn't able to get it to feel parralel to the bottom of the canvas yet. Too, I've begun some misteps on the foreground — while trying to give it some personallity, I've made it way too prominent.

4) Okay, I toned down the foreground. That helped. Too, more density in the shadows is helping bring the other color into focus. You might note my vasilation on the size and shape of the arbor at right — turned too much to us and the fence looks wrong, too much to the side and it loses personality. I've tried to bring more life to the sky by providing a glow along the tree line with a little more to the right side.