Nostalgia

Here's another painting of my little cottage in Maine.  When it rains, a huge puddle forms under the pine trees.  I've painted it from memory which forces you to simplify.

The shadows in the foreground form a kind of frame for the sunlit area of the painting where the cottage is.  The upright pine trunks confine the viewers attention to the left middle of the page.
Notice, too, that the background trees have no texture except as defined by the outer edges of their silhouettes.  The deep cast shadows on the cottage also emphasize the sunny quality of the light.
And the whole middle part of the painting--the lawn and the cottage--is painted with warm colors, while the background trees are cool by contrast.

Design, value and color choices are the big three when I'm composing and executing a painting.