I’m finding it very hard to try new techniques out. As soon as I lose concentration I fall back in to automation painting mode. A typical example is this painting of the Duoro at Oporto.

I started with the left hand side and tried so hard to get texture and tonal range with the washes. But when I got lost in the detail I painted the right hand side in the same old flat wash way. I could add another series of washes to this side but don’t have the knowledge of what to do next.

Down to the Duoro

I’ve reviewed the painting and spoken to a couple of people and we feel the contrasts were not strong enough. The shadows down the steps and on the houses need to be deeper so that the blue of the river can really ‘pop’ out. Also we will get greater contrast with the vegetation and more depth in the distance – I hope.

Down to the Duoro

this looks better in my opinion. Next… what about adding a little bit of life with some people?