Advice wanted by Dave Singleton

Hi Stan...I'm not the greatest one for compositional advice...add things? Perhaps not it is already a filled image...The path? Perhaps convert it too into part of the green scene with perhaps some larger flowers...as if they were just outside this window? The cave wall perhaps should be left as it is? Imagination is about impressions and not having mundane detail like bits of pathways that only belong in realities...perhaps? Impressions should leave the viewer something to work out for themselves and not to puzzle over..perhaps? PS feel free to delete this...

Hi Stan, Congrats on being brave getting your oils out...I keep collecting them but haven't moved over to them yet from my acrylics. When I am painting an image which isn't from life, I find the most important question to ask myself is: Where is the light source coming from? Where is the sun? Once you establish this you can begin to start shading and giving eveything in your picture substance and greater detail. Knowing where the light source is coming from will mean you can be confident in putting shadows in their correct places...like the tree trunks/barks...the roofs of your houses, the hills in the background and the bushes and shrubs in the foreground. You can even go outside when it is bright and see for yourself...observe how the light falls on different planes of a roof, or the trunks of trees in a park. I sometimes carry a little sketchbook for such things and scribble notes down aswell as make quick pencil sketches. Sometimes using lots of little rough paint strokes gives more vitality and energy into a painting instead of keeping the paint flat and smooth. When I am unsure of what things should look like...I like to physically go and have a look and ask myself questions. Do the hills look darker or paler in the distance? Is the sky lighter and darker on the horizon? What colour are the shadows of the clouds? Does the grass or soil in the foreground look darker or lighter to me? You are using your eyes as a camera constantly recording and comparing, shape, form and colour. Always mix your colours well...make greens from blues and yellows as well as using ready made greens. Try diffrent brush strokes to indicate texture of plants and foiliage. I better shut up here, starting to ramble. Hope it helps...thanks for sharing your work...and hope to see more of it. regards ~ Anni