This painting was "finished" over a year ago, but I was never satisfied with it. Recently I brought it out and reworked it, being sensitive to the foliage and the way the light was actually falls on the plane of the road. I found the need to tone down dome of the colors, particularly orange, to better balance the image. The result is something Im pleased with now. This has been happening frequently. When I go back a rework a painting I find that the original concept was a good one, but maybe I was too hasty or rough in the execution for the idea to be realized. The scene is a beautiful road in my neighborhood, called Bay Shore Road. The bend in the road occurs at the corner of Sarasota Rd., near Jungle Gardens, a 1930s old Florida attraction.

What interested me in this composition was the tunnel through the shade into the blazing sunlight around the bend. Controlling the tones of light and shadow was a challenging and exciting. It was a make or break thing; either the it conveyed the feeling I was after, or it simply didn't work. In the end, I think I got it!