I seem to be drawn to complex forms as well as contrasts. I nearly gave up on this piece as the plant form is almost overwhelming. The whorls holding the leaf are one element, and then there are other leaves crisscrossing the the background coming from other branches. It's hard to tell what's going on! In spite of abstracting the background I made progress only when I analyzed what direction the leaves were growing in using several photographs to understand them. I also had to simplify by minimizing the complicated shadows and by establishing the dark to light sequencing from the bottom to the top of the painting.
I'm looking forward to continuing to analyze them and develop the image in oils on a larger scale. Starting today.