One Photo - Two Paintings

A couple of years ago I was visiting friends in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. One day we drove to Comox and along the way I snapped photos of the landscape, through the car window.  Of course none of the photos were great, nor could I really capture the magnificence of what I saw, but that has never stopped me from trying!

One of the photos inspired two very different paintings, as you will see below. The photo reference is above, and the first of the two paintings is below.

Road to Comox 30" x 40" sold

I worked on this Road to Comox  for several months, really not sure what I was doing. At that point I had not painted many (any) landscapes (too much green, too many leaves!). I had been working with Japanese coloured and textured washi (and other) collage papers at the time and decided to add some of the paper in the rock area of the composition. Once I started adding paper onto the canvas, I just kept going, especially in the leaf area of the trees. At the same time I painted over top of the paper......until the work was finished. I was delighted with the completed painting, a highly stylized landscape with a richly textured, colourful surface. 

But.....the story continues! Sometiomes I just can't get an old image out of my mind, even though there are so many new ones competing for attention. (Is this what Monet thought when painting haystacks and cathedral facades?) Often I don't even realize that the image is there, just percolating away. Last week, inspiration took hold, and this was the very different result.

BC Back Road  30" x 40" SOLD

You will see that this painting  is closer in form to the original photo, but I have, as usual, taken liberties with the colour and overall interpretation. No collage paper additions here, but there is lots of pastel mixed in with the acrylic paint. You may be able to see some of the lines, especially in the lower/central green and purple area. The finished painting is presently sitting on my mantel and therefore under constant scrutiny - and I am loving it.  Again the surface is rich and visually textured, with lots of drama in the silhouetted trees .but relieved by the back light.  What do you think?
Do you ever revisit subjects, compsitions, or familiar images and re-interpret them? 

Have a great day.