It’s been very hot here lately and I haven’t gotten as much done as I would have hoped. I keep thinking I should switch back to oils for a bit, at least until it cools down some, because the acrylics are drying while they’re on my palette.

Anyway, I have gotten a little done recently. I made the decision to remove the castle. I didn’t really like it at all. It felt wrong. As I’m always saying with my writing, “If it doesn’t feel right, then it isn’t. Go back to when it last felt right and start again.” So I took the plunge with my painting and did the same thing. I took out the castle. Here’s the painting without the castle:

Here’s a closeup of the area where the castle was:

Now I’m faced with a dilemma of what to paint in the foreground. I’ve sketched in many options with charcoal and wiped all of them off the canvas. I keep asking myself what this painting wants to say, but so far, it is keeping it’s secrets well. So, while it’s hot, I sit and stare at it. The answer will come.