2:03 PM: mikela has always been bugged by that red/orange strip across the top of the painting. this morning she came over & gave me some feedback, which was very helpful in making the changes I just did. these are evident in the BEFORE & AFTER images below. I was attached to that orange/red swath of color, which, although it did serve a purpose compositionally when I started the painting, had become an eye grabber, serving no real purpose in the composition as a whole other than to grab your eye and scream look at me!!I the faint traces of its that remain contribute rather than detracting from the composition as a whole. in its place, the mountain shapes have moved up to the top of the canvas and beyond, so that the imagination completes them. the horse & riders also gain more prominence and meaning in this story; a thousand year old/contemporary tale of adventure.
