It's a lovely setting for a get away, floating with someone without a care in the world.
As to the painting, I believe I can say looking at your body of work that you have a language of marks and you describe things using that vocabulary. It is as if you are examining a body cell by cell as if on slides under a microscope. It's as if you look at each component and because you're aimed at trouble shooting, it becomes as important as the ones before and the next and the next. I think it's the diagnostician in you. And that gives your work a distinct appearance that many others who do not scrutinize the body the same way do.
So when you paint leaves on trees you paint leaf by leaf. And it's harder for you to see groupings as a mass and a painting as a group of masses. So far it's as if that kind of thinking is counter indicated.
I think I would consider looking at masses in your paintings more as whole systems that are healthy rather than cells that might be hiding an infection.
When I was in school I had painting teachers who would say to use the biggest brush you could use to get the look you wanted. I don't say to you to not use small brushes, but as an exercise, I would try painting with different sizes with no attention to detail whatsoever and train your eye to block in shapes. And from there you can subdivide, but only to a point.
This is another way of painting that might free you up. I realize your paint strokes are like footsteps on a walk through the forest or whatever. And that can be okay as a painter's experience - as their personal holiday. And painting differently might ruin that quality of getting away from all the cares of the world for a time. You have to weigh it for yourself.
With the painting style you have it's hard to pick a mark and say changing it would change the overall effect. Nor do I know that you would want to. I'm not sure what kind of challenges you would welcome. I would first say that as a starter you may want to start picking reference photos that have strong, simple compositions, with very clear areas of light and dark. And in your mind look at it as a map or structure upon which once established you can detail as much as you like -- only maintaining the integrity of the lights and darks as a primary goal. Think hierarchy of importance.
Anyway, that's just a suggestion because you asked for suggestions. I also see value in vacations either as a get away to relax or as a time to take on a challenge to see new things and have new experiences. Both work.
Last edited by D Akey; 06-07-2018 at 07:24 AM.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream