"Above and Beyond" oil 9 x 12 - an S-Curve and fly in the ointment

Halfway through our 2-week stay here on Monhegan we moved to the house next door to our usual rental house.  The view is very similar, but feels very different from that to which I have become accustomed over the past sixteen years.  Here is a painting of the new view looking north.  When I looked north I saw the houses close and far leading my eye into the distance in a graceful s-curve.  

I designed the painting with that s-curve in mind, editing the arrangement of trees, rooftops and the sea to support the idea of leading the eye from front to back, then around again into the painting.  
I used a new-to-me surface, a pre-gessoed board.  The gesso is super-smooth and I debated finding some sandpaper to give it a little tooth, but opted against.  The surface responds very differently to the brush, with paint sliding around and lifting off with pressure from the brush.  I adapted by using more paint, applied with a very light touch, almost as if laying it atop itself with a palette knife.   The result is a gooey, gushy paint surface which I like.
Here are some photos of the painting in process.  You can see how I moved some rooftops around from my original block in to support the s-curve.  

Proof of plein air - a curious fly

Turn the canvas upside down sometimes for a fresh perspective.