Water mill, questions before finishing

[bbqsmoker]

What should I do before I call this one complete? It seems like its missing something.

5x7, 300lb arches block, DS WN & M graham paint

[tmwilliams]

Given my lack of experience you should take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'd say it could use more dramatic light and shadow. It's well done but lifeless.

Thomas

[BlissC]

I agree with Thomas. In particular I'd pay attention to the windows - are there reflections of the mill's surroundings in the windows? ...and to the water, which doesn't seem to have any depth or sense of movement. Whichever direction the light's coming from, there will be highlights on the water, reflections of the sky, and a sense of movement of the water. I think that's what Thomas means about it being 'lifeless'.

[Kaylen]

first of all welcome,,,I am glad to meet anyone with BBQ in his/her name,hopefully you live nearby ,,,It is nicely painted ,so far,,,The light according to the eve is high and from the right, so the left end of the bldg would be in shadow, over all the whole painting is in mid value so some more darks in the foreground could be considered,and while your at it the rocks on the way to the house appear to cascade somewhat a few shadows on the verts getting softer as they recede? I hope I didnt over do it, I dont ever (hardly ever) know what others paintings should be ,but I share how they appear to me for you to conciser or reject , good luck and glad to have you aboar
P.S. by the way , this studio area of the forum is the right place to get feedback,,,when you post in the Gallery you will mostly only get praise unless you include "C&C welcome", in your signature

[bbqsmoker]

Is this a bit better?

[FrankM]

A good bit better indeed, I would say.

I suggest you, Kaylen, and I gather and enjoy some stew & 'cue to celebrate.

[painterbear]

Your addition of lights and darks upped the drama of the scene so well. Much more interesting painting now.

You can post the finished version of the painting in a new thread in The Gallery if you like too.

Sylvia

[Kaylen]

yep in my opinion its better, you did a great job on the rocks. speaking of on the rocks,isn't today national happy hour day?

[oldey]

Happy hour? I’m in!
Major improvement from the first painting!! Looking much more dramatic.
A helpful technique for me is to take my reference photo (or preliminary painting sketches - whatever the source) and convert them to black and white. Easy to do with any cell phone camera app. That has really helped me punch up values when I was just not seeing values clearly.

[BlissC]

A big improvement! Just adding those shadows and dark values has made all the difference.