Lesson 2 tweaked & right way up by Elizabeth Yuill Proctor

It is so tempting to fiddle and we all do it! My opinion, and it is only my opinion and taste and you don't have to agree, is that your first version was fresher and more open somehow emphasising what you were aiming for. The beauty of painting, however, is that, you can do it again. Keep going. I look forward to more.

umm perhaps the tree behind the lean to, is unnecessary to the composition, but I stuffed up when changing the distance from blue to green....

Sky is very good - now leave it alone! Foreground fine - I find the barn looks a bit odd, but that may be because it doesn't look like an English barn and I'm not familiar with others - something a bit angular about it. But I like the way the path goes right into it. The tree behind the lean-to is a bit of a problem, maybe (it's not much of one) and you could have saved the situation - which we've all endured - of the transition from blue to green or vice versa by just going away, having a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and coming back to it when the paint had dried. You can overpaint anything in acrylic. By the way, I think we'd all be interested to know what your tutor makes of it in due course. I'm guessing he might suggest that you've slightly lost the shape of the barn in painting it as a series of uprights - and it's that construction, I think, that bothers me about it - normally, you'd see a barn made of horizontal planks, and I think that might have given a greater sense of solidity. Still - if that's how it was built, that's how it was built!

Will have to Robert, for now anyway, have given to my daughter! My tutor is based in Maine, this is the picture we were tutored through - so the barn is one he set. I am in NZ so we get barns of all types here with all the incomers bringing their own ideas. Most of the really old ones have horizontal planks. But quite a few are of corruegated iron (our own is) without doors on. Do you think I should scrap the tree? I probably should have left it and had a cup of tea and thought about it for a day or two, sometimes, even at my great age, I can be impetuous! But, many thanks for your helpful comments.

Ah, all is explained. No, keep the tree - well, it's up to you of course! But the danger with painting over it now is that you'll end up with all sorts of other alterations you need to make, because one thing affects another, and you'll probably wish you'd never started... Better to call this one done, and start a new painting.

Thank you again Robert, will leave it be and next time not be in such a hurry (haha, I started this a year ago! - but did not get very far).

Crumbs, that is a long distance correspondence course! Like Robert I would be interested in your tutor's comments. I'm pleased you have been able to get back to painting. I also fail to have a cup of tea sometimes, or I have a cup of tea at the wrong time and come to the "wrong" decision. That's the fun. If unsure, start a new painting, as Robert suggests. I don't always follow my own advice though!

Have finally heard from Tim, my tutor...but unsure as to which version he refers..to which version he refers. To quote: I think the overall painting looks great. The colors are all very nice and your composition works well. I would be interested in hearing what you didn't like about it. That way I can best guide you to where you'd like to be. My suggestions are as follows, 1. The clouds look great. The only thing I'd try to do is maybe create a slight bit more contrast in the shadow area. Not too much, just a tad darker to make the white stand out a bit more. 2. The trees look great. I might add a few highlights to them. We aren't really to that point yet in the lessons, because I haven't covered trees in detail yet. I might come back later after viewing the rest of the lessons and highlight the trees a bit more to give them more depth. 3. The barn is done very well. I wouldn't change much. I might extend the shadows a bit more under the roof and maybe suggest a few more shadows on the right hand side under the roof. Not too much, but maybe just a tad to show depth. I'd also highlight the boards a bit here and there with some bright white. 4. The path and grass are done very well too. I wouldn't change the path at all. I might try and add a few more brush strokes through the grass to give it more texture.