At this stage I have blocked everything in and I can judge the final look of the painting. If I am unhappy with how things are going, it is easy to make changes at this point. If you have an area in a painting that you have spent a great deal of time on trying to make it 'just right', it can be heart breaking and difficult to bring yourself to make necessary changes. It is usually better to leave 'finished work' until last!
It is nice to get to this stage and begin adding detail and subtilties to the painting. I like alkyd because it dries quickly but not so quickly that you have difficulty blending one colour into another. Working from back to front, I add more mist coming through the distant trees. Next, a little more detail in the middle ground. The last thing I do at this point is add colour and light on the birch tree in the foreground.
Now I turn my attention to the split-rail fence, adding colour and light to define the weathered surfaces. The fence makes a great lead-in for the viewer's eye. The composition is designed to stop the eye at the birch tree, move up the trunk and follow the limb near the top of the picture to the trees in the middle ground. The gentle slope of the rough fields brings the viewer's eye back to the birch tree and weathered fence.
The final step involves adding a little more colour to the foliage of the trees in the middle ground, more definition to the leaves and branches of the birch tree, the fence and the foreground grasses. The whole painting is completed in a little over an hour.
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