I began by doing some very precise sketching with a ruler of the monument because I wanted to be sure to get the right angle and proportion. Then I painted a blue wash over my precise sketching. Next I painted the blue sky back ground which was harder than I tough because it was difficult to get the right blue. I eventually decide to just go with it and mix the colors in the canvas until it looked like a sky and light and airy. Then I went on to paint the clouds mostly with my fingers until I figured out how toxic oil paint is so I decided to use gloves. But using my fingers as a painting tool definitely made a difference in the texture of the clouds and the wispiness. I finally moved to the monument it self and used lots of different colors to create a light skin type of color. Finally I painted the trees in front of the monument in the foreground to give the painting a bit of depth. This was probably on of the favorite parts because I got to change the texture from a smooth type painting and make it more rough by giving the trees their leaves. I really enjoyed painting this and I think I learned more about background middle ground and foreground through this piece. As well as how create more depth in my pieces in the future.