I did a few thumbnail studies to determine what I was going to do to make the painting better than the photo. I changed the boring wall by putting in a gate, added windows and chimneys where I [...]

I begin laying in the initial watercolor washes working from light to dark.

The finished painting. It’s never about copying a photo. As artists we are free to interpret scenes in our own way.

This is a small lane in Grasmere, England, near the famous Dove Cottage. My photograph was not especially interesting, so I worked out some changes to make my painting more interesting.