Painting Trees and Patterns of Light and Dark

Tree Patterns
oil on panel, 7x5

Here is another plein air to studio painting.  I started it in a park in Mount Dora, Florida over a year ago.  I liked the slender, curly branches and the colorful foliage in between the trunks.  After I returned from my trip, the painting sat in a pile in my studio, half finished.  Everytime I looked at it, I thought it had potential.  Last night, I jazzed it up with some brighter colors and more contrast.  I used my imagination and memory.  It was no longer a literal representation of what I had seen.  Sometimes it helps to think of a painting as an abstract, and just focus on the shapes, colors, lines, patterns, and contrast.  I think this one will make a good study for a larger painting.