Mini color study, “Guarding the Path”, 3×4 oil on paper

I’m really happy with today’s mini color study! It’s a very simple scene, but I think my value thumbnail was particularly effective, and my color mixing worked great for the most part. I did a quick block-in of the tree and cast shadow with a mix of transparent earth red and ultramarine blue which introduced a dark, warm reddish orange into the greens that I like.

Two areas I’d work on next time are the cast shadow along the path and grass, and the value contrast on the right side. It got a little sticky there because as I added the sunlit area to the main tree, it became the same value as the more distant trees. I could try going a bit lighter with the distant trees and a bit darker with sunlight on the big tree — I don’t think it would take much of a shift, but just enough to make that area more clear.

Reference photo from a local park

Value thumbnail of simple shapes

Black and white value check of my color study