I was teaching a lesson yesterday and during the lesson I used a sheet of paper to demonstrate various marks or techniques.  That was things like the tree, a few dark green swatches at the top that were leaf demonstrations etc.  Anyway, I thought as a kind of fun activity that I would try to turn that random sheet into a painting.   I just played with value using progressive layers of darker values to suggest detail and draw the eye.  This image is the result and I love it.  It’s also a wonderful exercise to do a painting where you’re  just playing with value and not concerned with realistic colour.