Moving forward (Lake Como W.I.P., continued)

At this point in the process I feel that I have sufficiently addressed the nearest hillside to the point that I can now move forward and focus on the middle distance boats and water.

I also realise that there is still a lot of white canvas around this painting and I really want to at least block the rest of it in so that I can better gauge my color and value relationships. Ideally I probably should have done this earlier, but as you might have noticed I have been short on easel time in the last week, and I want to address the water in as close to an alla prima fashion as I can, because otherwise I end up having to scrape off a lot of dried paint from my palette and remix everything to try and get back to where I had previously left off.

Ah, that's better!  I've painted in the little stone wall/pier to the left, and have at least suggested that there is a lake here somewhere! The paint layer on the water is still a very thin block-in here, but at least I have some color down and have indicated approximately where the boats are going and where the water highlights will be. This last picture shows where I had to leave off this morning. No matter how early I try to get out to the studio, I seem to always feel that I have one hour too little. But that's the way it goes, right now. Depending on how much painting time I will get this weekend, I hope to finish this piece up in another session or two.