More Birch Trees!

Same study, more tweaking. I darkened the foreground, shadows and some of the sky. Because of the light today my sky looks lavendar and the white of the birch bark is lost.

This is the best photo I could get of my latest birch study but it should convey an idea of the sunrise effect. I will most likely play with this some more and bring in some deeper shadows on the snow in the foreground. If it doesn't work out it's just a study. I used to hate doing studies and thought they were a waste of time but now I'm enjoying them, especially when I'm so far out of my comfort zone. They waste less paper, less time and they provide a wealth of much needed information.

I emailed my customer the last two color sketches/studies and she decided on the second sketch. She said it looked the most like the area where she lives and I have to agree. She didn't care for all the orange and red in the first study but did say she was open to bringing in a little more color to the one she did choose and suggested a sunset landscape. I thought early sunrise would work much better. I love the look of all those amazing pastel colors that bathe the landscape just before the sun appears on the horizan. At that time of day there's usually a bit of mist hanging over the lake and the waters are usually calm and reflective.