Today I was oscillating between chaos and explanation. I laid the subtext for the tree and fence on the left side, started integrating the major shrub line with the foreground, and placed the tree and shadow shapes to the right of the barn. The dark verticals there create a bracket that keeps the eye from sliding out of the frame.
The blue roof creates just enough surprise against all that warm ochre, and the orange hillside has real weight and authority. The push-pull between the loose foreground and the more structured middle ground is alive — not a problem yet.
I still have to raise the right side mustard field to the base of the barn — it's floating slightly off its platform right now. Maybe Wednesday. The foreground marks will eventually need a unifying temperature decision, but that can wait. The painting has real atmosphere. That hillside is going to be something.
Today was structural. I wanted to give the stream a believable fall — a dominant flow with secondary sections branching off it — and add another layer of built color to the top of the waterfall.
The white water is finding its logic now, cascading in a convincing sequence from upper left down through the rocks. The dark masses are doing their job, giving the falls something to push against. Those flashes of teal tucked between the boulders are quiet but effective — they keep the water feeling transparent and alive rather than just painted white.
The fiery canopy above is already the emotional engine of the piece. As the water structure tightens below, that tension between the warm riot up top and the cool, deliberate fall of water is going to be what makes this painting sing.