This is a Norwegian fjord, based on a photograph that mike took.
I was looking to do a night painting, and I have been wanting to paint this place since I visited mike's Nordic outpost a couple of years ago. I actually painted this on top of my second oil painting, which is of the same region. I learned a lot from that second painting, but I wasn't happy with it. IMO this one is an improvement.
I struggled in the middle of this painting, but ended on a better note. Specifically, I started to get too literal in my intent and with the brush. In an effort to break out of this, I quickly added the leaves in the upper left, which came out with a bit of Japanese flavor, I think. That gave me a bit of confidence, and I then worked back over the whole painting some. What happened with the pine tree on the far right is an example of this.
I am most pleased with the plants on the left and the way the light falls on them. Ironically, that was probably where I painted fastest. I am looking forward to getting better at that. I imagine if I can hit a whole painting like that from beginning to end, then I will be getting somewhere interesting.
Here's the process in reverse order:
Thanks. I do my best to paint the light, and not think about what it is. Starting with shadow and then applying light. I started with oils about a year and a half ago. I used to paint more abstract things with housepaint. I used to do charcoal a bit long ago.