Simplify, simplify, simplify!

Rum River Glow, oil, 11 x 14

This is a piece that I set aside several months ago but still thought it might have some merrit. So this week I took it back out and had some ideas on improvements. I kept looking back at a some little studies I did of this scene both in oil and pastel.  And it was clear that I had to simplify it!  Above is what I just completed today.  Most of the changes I made were in the background trees...connecting shapes, eliminating some details, and softening edges.

Study for Rum River Glow, oil, 5 x 7

I did this little study right after I taught a pastel class many months ago, during which we practiced minimal stroke exercises. After the class, I used that same approach to paint this little oil study, which took about 15 - 20 minutes (much faster than usual for me!).  I spent a lot more time on the painting above, but attempted to simplify it by connecting large shapes of similar values and eliminating unnecesary details as I did in the study.