New Pastel Painting

Today I had a bit of time to analyze a painting I am working on and see what little changes might need to be made. I like keeping a painting on an easel and as I walk by each day, I can look at it and see if anything jumps out at me that is not quite right. The painting is on an Ampersand Pastelbord and is 24" x 36".

The first image is what I had done up until a few days ago. I knew there was still a good bit to make it into something worth framing -- maybe!

I want the front tree to be less "decorated"! It needs to be simplified so it fits with the rest of the painting. I also knew the clouds were not finished. Could I carry off creating a painting that had such simplification of the fields, but still have the road running into the distance and it not look too trite! I always like pushing the colors, but maybe this time I have pushed them a little too far. I love the colors I have used in the distance, but will have to decide if they are too intense. They might be, but they might be what I want to have happen. Breaking the rule of intensity being more in the foreground. So, the next photo is what I have done up to today.

Here I have added a tiny little barn at the back of the field, so that the road leads somewhere. I have also created more interest in the clouds and taken the largest one up and out the top of the painting.

Also, I have simplified the foreground tree some and changed the colors in the shadow side to a more intense blue-green.

At this point I have to decide -- is it finished. Do I have interest for the viewer -- enough to keep their interest? Would someone put this kind of painting and these color combinations in their home and live with it?

I thoroughly enjoyed painting this. I used a color I have always said was my least favorite color -- orange. It was play as far as I am concerned. An experiment using colors in a combination I don't usually do. Tell me what you think -- would love to hear your thoughts.