Do you think this picture works?
I like it for the memories it evokes for me, and different elements in the picture, but I have never been sure if I like the picture as a whole.
You see, I used three different painting styles in it, and I am not sure they really go together. The background is really a monochrome study of a distant scene. I am rather pleased with the amount of information it conveys with a limited number of brush strokes. The middle section is a fairly traditional watercolor painting showing a rural scene in Italy. The olive trees frame the rest of the picture, and are done in a rather stylised way. They sort of work, but would equally be at home in a more stylistic painting.
Oh, and what does the picture remind me of? The day when we were staying at Lake Garda in Italy, and I got the ‘day off’ from looking after my young children and was able to cycle around the area painting and sketching some of the spectacular scenery.
The children went to a local theme park called ‘Gardaland’ and had a great time – but recently when I asked them what they remembered about it, they could not remember it at all! At least I have my painting, with all it’s faults, to remind me of that day.