I've really tried to focus on getting the tones right in this watercolour painting. I always stand as far back as I can when assessing a painting - if the tones are there or thereabouts then the painting should look as close to a photograph as possible from a distance. I look at some artists work and marvel at how they accomplish this. Often the brush strokes are simple but when you look carefully they've got the tones spot on: lighter in the distance and progressively darker as we approach the foreground. I think we often ruin this effect by brushing the distant elements in too dark and hence the effect is lost. One element I could have improved upon in this painting: the figures are lost against the dark tones of the hedge - maybe I should have made the hedge slightly lighter behind the figures. I've added a few more shadows than those in the photo to try and emphasize the light. It's always a dilemma how strong to make the shadows - paint them in strong and they are more dramatic but use a little more water and you can see the ground beneath more clearly. Sometimes I'll get frustrated when I've painted a nice foreground but then can't see any of it because the shadows are too dark.