I sure will, your explanation really helps me to want to go beyond the second try.

Well Margaret, that is the 6 million dollar question! (Or is the saying the 64 million dollar question?) I’m afraid I don’t have a solution as yet but I’m still looking. Thinking about it, on my second (or third or fourth) attempt, I’ll usually do an even more light touch preparatory drawing and, in those areas when I ended up having to go over an area twice, and then maybe go back in and fiddle around some more… I’ll make a more concerted effort to be bold and achieve the result I’m after in one hit. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. If you find a solution – please do let me know!

Many thanks for taking the time to look and for your comment which I really appreciate. I half wonder if I shouldn’t do two attempts of every painting, perhaps with a week’s break in-between so that I can decide what I do and don’t like and which areas I’d like to improve on in the second attempt. Completely take your point about the retaining the freshness, I have come a cropper on a few occasions when the second attempt becomes over-worked and loses any sense of spontaneity.