Bright Tree at Long Hill (Revised) as of July 17, 2017

This is the oil bar painting I have been working on.  The reference for this painting is a photo that I took at Long Hill Gardens back on an overcast day in October.  I have been struggling with the color.  Something seemed to be missing, but this morning I think I may have figured out the problem. I decided that the painting needs more blue, but I really want the sky to be overcast. It is a pale blue now, but I want to make it even lighter and less blue.  So I decided to use a dark blue for shadows, blending into purple shadows.  That seemed to help because now the color seems more balanced to me, and it makes sense because blue/violet is the opposite of red/orange. Because I am using the dark blue in place of black, it is also added more contrast and depth.  I am going to add a bit more dark blue tomorrow, and then take the sky closer to white.