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Some people are just never satisfied!  I would be one of those people. Cactus Ridge was originally 22" x 30", had a tree in the background and frankly needed some general enhancing throughout the background. It just could be better and sometimes less is more.

After a lot of contemplation and getting some good advice about how to make these changes I pulled it out of the frame and went to work - with my pastels and my ruler.  I wanted to crop it just a little to remove some negative space and bring more attention to the subject but I did not want to buy or try to have the frame chopped down.  The frame is not inexpensive and taking two inches off in both directions might end up with something that would have to be replace entirely. Here is where the ruler came into play. I knew what I wanted to accomplish and decided to chop two inches off the top (eliminate the least desired negative space). Then came the sides; a total of two inches but keeping it balanced with more space in front then at his hindquarters.  One and three-quarters off one end and a quarter off the other. You might be surprised how important a quarter inch in the wrong place could be. Using this approach allowed me to have the frame fitted with a one inch wide linen liner which added a nice touch with its neutral light tone enhancing the presentation.

Now with the "excess" removed it was time for the pastels.  The sky was too bright and so was the background tree line; speaking of trees, that big one near his head didn't really add anything so I got out the chain saw and took it out. The tree tops were reworked to create more of an ambient sky (I think that's what it is called) by coming over them with violet and working some violet into the sky and clouds.  I did this by putting a light layer of violet over the trees and carrying it on down onto the grassy areas.  Here are the before and after images. What do you think?

Before:

After: