Thanks for a great selection of references to choose from and thanks for hosting, Rich!

Beautiful! Love the colors in the sea.

Hi Rich – first, thanks for posting so many lovely images this month! :thumbsup:

I really love your swing. I like your decision to remove the part of the beach behind the swing, and letting it stand out against the ocean. It’s little things like this that help me along. That’s an interesting thin yellow line along the horizon between sea and sky – excellent separation.

I’m really loving your palette in the second one – it has taken on quite a surreal effect, with the shape of the center tree and those great leading lines guiding the eye to it.

The ducks: A3. The reeds were challenging.

Christel, you did a fantastic job with the reeds! They are very sharp, and your coloring is perfect. The shadows in the water are excellent, too.

On my laptop, the water looks a little dark in the upper part of the painting, but that’s likely on my end. Overall, this is a beautiful rendition of the cute little guys.