Softening

Endless choices go into painting. With oil paint, you can think up an idea, like "what if the sky isn't so striped with clouds?" and brush out the distinct cloud shapes that dominated an earlier version. Those stripes are gone, and the shadows of the trees are less harsh, making what I hope is a softer contrast with the strong, hard-edged dark shadow in the foreground.

With the softening, I think some aspects of the painting work better... but looking at the earlier version, I miss some of the tension of those stripes. This is where painting alone in a studio has its disadvantages -- in a room full of other artists, people aren't afraid to share their opinions and advice can either help find a new solution or help affirm the choice that was made.