A Problem Solved

I've been away for the past couple of weeks enjoying my bi-monthly visit with my husband in this most crazy of years. The weather in Florida was constant torrential rain and painting my beloved dunes was impossible.
I came back home to this painting, that I thought was finished two weeks ago but still wasn't satisfying me.

I had been studying it trying to figure out why it didn't have the sense of immenseness I felt when I hiked the trail that spectacular day. Somehow the canyon seemed miniaturized. Also, the glowing red rocks which were the inspiration for the painting, had lost their significance.
I thought a cropping might be in order. Look what happens when the sky is cropped out.

Now the walls rise around the viewer as they did in reality and the red rocks and path have prominence again. Here is another cropped option.

It's not quite as radical but I didn't like the shape on the top left. Then I noticed the pale color of the sky just above the rocks on the right and a light bulb went off.  The value of the sky was wrong!  And the bright blue color was competing with the red rocks. Here is the final painting that just barely escaped the knife. I'm happy now. What do you think?

On Kaibab Trail - oil on canvas - 16x20
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Still Quietly Working

It's been two weeks since the end of January's painting challenge. As much as I'd like to adhere to my goal of 3 to 4 paintings a week, family obligations have closed around me again. I've been buried in paperwork rather than paint and brushes. Still, I have 2 paintings nearly completed. This one is from a photo reference in the Grand Canyon. The first photo shows the block in. The second one is two painting sessions later. I thought it was finished but I didn't like the space between the tree and the right hand cliff face. After some more work today, I think it's finished. I'll photograph and post it tomorrow.