Tree by Karen Sloan

From the Painting Guide: You've captured the reflection of the trees in not-quite-still water – never an easy task. What bothers me is that if you look closely at the trees and then the reflection, they're not the identical scene. Take a look at each tree separately and its reflection. Then look at the colors of the landscape and the colors of its reflection – where are the yellows and ochers, that intense green on the right-hand side? The reflection of the rocks also seems to lack detail compared to that of the tree trunks, as if the water is moving more next to them. The light color behind the trees is a bit uniform in tone. I presume this is a wash you put down before you started the trees; if you made it less uniform, it'd be more interesting.

Things to Consider When Looking At This Painting:
• Composition: The rocks aren't in the middle of the painting if you measure it, but visually it looks like they are. This cuts the painting in half. The tall, thin format of the canvas does alleviate this somewhat. Cover up part of the bottom of the painting and see how this changes its feel (then do the same with the top).