My process for painting environments from imagination has a specific structure that I developed through trial and error over about two years of regular practice.

Step one: define the light source and time of day before drawing anything. I write it as a note: 'late afternoon sun, low angle, warm light, cool shadows, slight haze.' This decision locks in the color temperature logic for the entire painting.

Step two: thumbnail the composition at maximum 3 inches wide. I'm only designing shapes and value distribution at this stage. Nothing else matters.

Step three: block in the major masses on a large canvas. Silhouette shapes for sky, mid-ground, foreground. No details, just area relationships.

Step four: establish the key light on the focal area first. Everything else gets calibrated relative to this anchor value.

Step five: add details starting at the focal point and reducing detail density as you move toward the edges. The eye should travel inward and rest on what matters.

The temptation at every stage is to add detail too early. Resist it. Details painted on a wrong structure are wasted effort.