PAINT AND LET YOUR HEART SING

Do you ever start out a new painting with vigour and excitement only to step back on its  completion and feel it looks a little flat and doesn’t convey the mood that you had hoped for.

Well one thing that I feel may  really help at this time is to stand back and check the tonal values  in your  painting. If you have been working from a sketch or photo do the tonal values match  up  in your finished piece.

In my oil painting here, of the Gardens at Brantwood (John Ruskins former home in the Lake  District)the eye is drawn to the bright flowers and path. The contrast of the shadow in the  background   makes the light on the path appear brighter.