This is a faraway view from a bridge. It was midday and the colors at the time were nothing like this painting but that bit of composition in the far distance caught my attention and I resolved to do something with it.

So what to do? I was vacillating between the idea of an overall soft lake effect or something with strong lighting. A calm lake was very appealing and I began to work with those soft color effects everywhere, more of a monochromatic look but then the yellows happened.

The warm yellow originally went softly into the right sky but the painting was asking for more, something to take the interest further up. What followed were brighter colors added to the front and back: more yellows, golds, greens and reds. 

The oil was brighter now and all that was left was to bring the entire painting together. I added warmer colors onto the lake surface, creating a place where all of the bright colors are reflected, becoming liquid, softly glowing and blending together.