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My drawing students and I have all experienced an odd phenomenon: we can look at a piece of our art and think “DONE”, and then look at a photo of it either on a camera or on a screen, and see everything that isn’t quite right. 

While studying the painting in the photo above, I made a list.

• fix dark halos around sage
• sage needs shadows on the ground
• more splinters and cracks on log
• better shadow on ground by log
• shadow by log clump of sage
• add light stems to sage
• more gravel by log
• bump up the ridge so not so straight
• smooth out clouds on the right (some strong edges need to be softened)
• tree on right looks unnatural – needs a bit more darks, and make the light parts more consistent
• Fix 2nd tree on the left. The darks aren’t right – connect them? Add some light on the left side?
• Finish sage on the bottom left of painting and the bottom right – missing details
• slightly greener grass in meadow
• dark patches added to meadow

That’s a long list, but each item is a small maneuver.

While I was engaged in this exercise, the customer emailed to say they are coming to town on the weekend, and no rush, but will it be ready? 

YES, IT WILL!

Have a look as it progressed to completion. These are tiny corrections, so you may not be able to discern the difference between before and after that list of details was finished.

 

This last photo is signed. When it is dry, I will spray varnish it and take the best photo I can. 

I have been communicating with the wife; this place, somewhere north of Tahoe, is special to the husband, who took the reference photos. I wonder if she has been showing him the emailed progression photos.