After I finished the painting in the first photo, I thought I was done. I had added depth by increasing the yellows and oranges in the pads and yellow ocher to the water to make it less monochromatic. But, still, the more it sat, the less I liked it, even as I worked on another, larger one. I fussed with the colors more, taking out some details with broader brush strokes and putting more yellow ocher in the water, but something still wasn’t right.
One day, right after I had cleaned and put down the brushes on the third painting, it occurred to me to just take out a few pads and thus increase the amount of water in the background. I needed to think about it, but the next day I still thought it might be a good way to go. So I did it.
In the end, I think I worked more on this little painting than the other two larger ones combined. Still, I think it was worth it.