A tale of two paintings

Finished this one last weekend. This is the western side of the biggest pond. I like the tree here and the path leading up to and around it.

I like it so much that this is the second time I painted it. Here is the same scene painted in the spring.

This painting resides in the collection of a friend now. It was the first I painted on Luan panel. The panel in this case I'd gessoed with house primer. I like this painting but I can't say I liked that slick hard surface for painting. After this one I painted on the raw wood for a while.

Now I use clear acrylic gesso that I sand down. I really enjoy that painting suface as it feels just like painting on wood and it pulls the paint off the brush real nicely...