I have added some highlights to the twigs and started to put a little of the flower colour in the top right. These areas are small and are set against the sky. To make then feel more natural, after painting them, I blur the edges slightly with clean water. When left as 'hard edge' shapes they tend to look 'stuck on' which is not the effect I want. Even when the painting is completed I do this to any areas that I feel need it.

There is some form beginning to appear with a balance of dark across the painting. Just a little more to add, plus the highlights to some of the twigs. The very young twigs have a green tinge (yet to be added) and the more mature twigs are a deep red (Red Madder). The sun  lit parts of the twigs I shall add using a wash and I shall encourage the shadow part to 'bleed' into it which will give a feel of curve. The twigs in complete silhouette have a blue/violet bias.

I have added one of the main twigs, which was a concern when I included it into the composition, as it may 'cut' the composition diagonally. I decided that, once the flower shapes have been added, it would counteract this possibility somewhat. I have posted two photographs, taken a few seconds apart, taken with my ipad mini. The first, with a blue bias was taken using natural light only and the second with the addition of indoor LED lighting. The blue bias could be a result of the fact that the ipad may not have a skylight filter with the camera lens but, to be true, daylight is the best when painting to be able to see the true colour of what you are doing. If painting at night, I use a special craft incandescent bulb, which gives of a natural daylight.

A little more sky to the top left and the beginnings of some of the silhouetted twig and bud shapes. The colours I used to make the dark colours are Indigo, Rose Madder and Ultramarine Violet. Even though in the overall picture they are very dark you can see from the close up detail that I have included some subtle tonal changes to suggest form rather than flat shapes.

The drawing and sky stage is completed. I shall start to add some of the darker twigs next. They will not be black as I never use black paint ( black is the absence of light which only happens naturally, I believe,  in the environment in which our planet resides - space). Instead, I shall make them a darker shade of the purplish/maroon colour that the actual twigs are. Some areas of the twigs will 'catch the light' and reveal a lighter shade with some tinges of green.

I felt that I needed and slightly larger expanse of sky so decided to omit some flowers and small distant branches at the top right of the painting. If I decide along the way that it is too much I can paint darker shapes over some of it. The angle of the twigs is intended to stop the eye of the viewer from wondering off the top right of the painting.

I am moving forward with the drawing and sky background. I expect to move to the next stage next week. I shall add some of the silhouetted twigs across some of the sky areas. There was a large twig on the right hand side of the group of flowers but I have decided to not paint this in in its entirety as it would separate the composition and spoil the unity.