Last fall, an old copy of Philip Jamison's book, Making Your Paintings Work, found me in a used bookstore. Since then, I have painted over 30 of his pieces; he is a master of design. I was at the point that I felt like I had learned a lot from copying his pieces, but I needed to take what I had learned and apply it. I tried a few paintings but wasn't pleased with the results. One day I decided to take a house I had previously painted and add distant fields, like his, to the background. I liked the results. I let this painting sit for a few weeks and decided to make the sky more stormy and add a lake. This painting is a step forward for me and I am glad I was able to incorporate what I had learned from Philip Jamison's book.