In the October issue of The Artist, Paul Talbot-Greaves set readers the challenge of letting go and starting with a mess when painting from a photograph..

Of the reader versions sent in, Paul selected the work of Lauretta Milligan (see below) for critique saying: 'This is a really bold painting Lauretta with a great mix of shapes and colour. I can see you have painted the leaves of the trees but don’t be afraid to paint them as blocks of changing colour using wet against wet pigment. This will give your interpretation much more impact. I do like the dynamic shapes of the road shadows but they need to be cleaner with a little more light. Use a cool colour such as cobalt blue with a little neutral tint added and this will separate them from the left hand tree shades. A loose painting like this needs that touch of finesse and you can easily achieve this by adding branches and twigs in the upper section of the bare trees. Use a rigger brush or dip pen to achieve those fine lines.'

Of the challenge Lauretta said: 'I read Paul's tips from his demonstration article Through the Autumn Woods and paid attention to his layering of washes. I then decided on my colours and laid washes on until the darkest wash of a mix if brown and blue. A good exercise as shadows are always difficult.'

You can see all of the reader versions of Paul's challenges in the PaintersOnline gallery by clicking here.