Interpretation

[patindaytona]

I started this painting about 5 days ago and as always, it never goes in the direction I intended it to go. Sure, their's a tree, and a road, and a sunrise, but it doesn't look at all like the photo.   I know some artists will purposely increase the intensity and exaggerate color in a painting as well as contrast values.  I am trying to pay closer attention to values and all that, but today I just got out the palette knife and took my chances on slapping down heavy color on the road, and not accurate color. It is a ballpark color, and still looks ok...not fake hopefully.
I am and continue to try to pay attention to what i've learned on lowering chrome, values, etc. I just didn't know where to start on the road. I thought of putting down layers and glazes, but it looks overwhelming. Sometimes, depending on the subject, you have to be very bold and just slap down that color fast and hope that was the right way to do it. Other times, it's the opposite. I used paper towel here and there to wipe out areas of the road for lights. I guess every artist does it differently and whatever "happens" on a canvas, you just have to go with it and work with it. The underpainting is always very loose and very rough tonal values,etc. So, like today, couldn't I just consider it as "another"underpainting layer? Isn't it better to be "loose"and not fiddle?  When it's dry, I can always go over it again. I think this applies to certain subjects like the ROAD. But wouldn't of course to things requiring more accuracy from the start....a tree, a man made object like a house, an apple,etc.    I was a little crude today, but hoping this layer can be "utilized"as a benefit to a subsequent layer over it.

[Kelley]

  Pat! That is incredibly well done.   I can't see what else it would require.

[nolan]

I agree with Kelley, sign it it's beautiful, well done

[jettrout]

It's beautiful. I would also stop, and sign it. 

[ArtByG]

Wow! Sign it! It doesn't need anything else.

[patindaytona]

NO, no, no......this is a PHOTOGRAPH. I'm trying to do a painting of it. It LOOKS like a painting because this is how I did it on photoshop.    I still have trouble with that road. Do I paint an underlayer of dark first and build up with lights. Or do I choose a base MID tone and darken and lighten as needed? I have trouble deciding that with different things. Of course, a tree is dark base first, but not all things, and how do you decide? Is their a basic rule of thumb for that?

[Kelley]

Remember what Dennis said: each person has there technique and there's not a wrong way. The thing to do is choose and stick to that style.  My opinion and/or style is paint the background first (sky for example) which happens to be lighter than the foreground (including the tree).  If the road is dark then I would paint it next.  I wouldn't worry about the highlights that sit on top of the dark areas until that phase.

[nolan]

you had us all excited there for a moment Pat 

My method for doing the road would be a basic shading from dark front to light back, then maybe some knife or splatter the add texture. For the water I would lift out some of the paint then add the sky color. You will still get mixing, but that's fine - it would give a "looking through" effect. I would let it dry and add the water highlights in using a color wash