I was first drawn to the gorgeous subtle greys and the soft pastel colors in the leaves that appeared in the reference photos . These attributes were not that easy to arrive at with paint. The resulting image is very different from the original inspiration and much of it was created using clues that I found in the reference shots. This little piece was started at the end of winter and was unhappily ignored all spring, summer and fall until recently. At some points, I wondered if it was worth finishing, but now I am glad to have puttered through it.