Somewhat Abstracted

Back in the studio, but only for a short time today. More to the point, it was back to acrylic paints. Hmmm.

For the last while I have been trying to finish a larger picture of Skye from Sand, and I've got a bit stuck with it.  It's been done on very nice paper and I'm loth to give up on it.  But I must confess it's a bit overworked. Here it is.

From Sand - Pic 1

 The colour is generally quite good, and some of the effects are good, especially the far away hills, but despite my best efforts, it looks a bit boring. I then thought about cropping the picture to make it better - was the composition wrong? But the best way of cropping would lose the focal point.  So it was back to the drawing board.

I did a new little thumbnail, and then I started afresh. Back to using graphite, gouache then acrylic. I stopped myself when I got to this point.

From Sand - Pic 2

I thought this was quite good, but I wasn't sure.  And this time I was determined not to overwork the picture (as I usually do).  But it does look a bit 'dabby'. So I took another piece of paper and started afresh...

I

From Sand - Pic 3

Of course, the composition is ever-so-slightly different again, and this time I was trying to focus on abstract values.  I realised that there were similarities between the triangular peaks of the Cuillins and the jaggedness of the dark rocks on the LHS. So I tried to keep focused on these abstract values. Again I stopped before I did too much.

So - which is the best interpretation - Pic 1, 2 or 3?  I've brought them all home to review and at the moment I can't decide.  I think I may like Pic 3 best, but maybe it's just a bit too messy.  Pencil marks are OK, but not if they are in the wrong place.  I need to work harder at achieving a looser painting technique WHICH IS NOT MESSY!  But at least these look a little less boring, dontcha think?