A quick wash lays out the point of view and composition for me to consider.

We had our first frost a few days ago and it was just beautiful in the morning light. The trees still held onto their fall leaves. The contrast between the bright colors of the trees and the muted tones of the marsh grass was striking.

Added some lighter, more intense leaves to bring some of the bush forward and lead the eye diagonally lower right to upper left and back to upper right. Does it work?

It was satisfying to put the leaves in today. I probably have one more session to add some light leaves that will lead the eye across the two diagonals. I also may rework the large oak leaves, bottom right, to break them apart.

Spent the entire day outside cleaning the yard, storing away the dahlias, raking, etc. It was glorius, in the 60's. Just before the sun disappeared I painted in the basic structure for the little bush's branches. Tonight I'm having dinner with a naturalist. I'm hoping he can identify my little bush.

Just worked a few minutes today on texture to create some depth of field.

It stopped raining today and the sun came out in the afternoon. That made for better working conditions in the studio. I also walked to the spot in the woods where my little bush grows. I first thought it was an euonymous, then a sassafras. Now, I don't know. I took a small branch to ask about it. On the painting, I worked the middle and near grounds, adding some texture that will lay a foundation for details.