Pond Reflections, View of Mount Jefferson from Ashe County Park in West Jefferson

I was drawn to the blue mountain shadows the clouds were making as they floated over them. But I also loved the contrast of the trees next to the cloud reflections in the water which ended up being my focal point. It’s so hard to choose sometimes but I think the painting sort of unfolded as I rendered it. It happens like that sometimes. I started out with a Burnt Sienna imprimatura and made a couple of passes with color to develop the perspective.