I didn't know how to start, in the beginning. I drew some simple outlines on both watercolor papers, trying to draw it to scale compared to the photo. Then, I practiced some color mixing and brush technique on small pieces of watercolor paper.  I painted basic, loose trees and train tracks, and once I felt comfortable with my brush, I started with a light wash of the sky.  The sky on my practice painting was a bit of a mess because I overworked the paper trying to make it perfect. When I did my final painting, I tried to be more loose and free with the color, using wet-on-wet technique and not messing around with the paint. On my practice, I think I used too much water, and didn't mix colors very well. I think I was a little impatient with it. My mountains were too dark, and the trees looked faded and gray.  When I moved on to my final painting, I tried to be more patient. I spent time adding layers and making sure not to overwork my paper. Once I was happy with it, I added white gouache highlights to my train tracks. I used light yellow watercolor to add a paint splatter to give my trees more dimension and "pizazz".  Some techniques I used were wet on wet, highlighting, layers, and paint splatter. I used upwards strokes to paint the trees on the sides, outward strokes to create the evergreen trees, and diagonal strokes for the sky.  As I was painting, I had trouble making the evergreen tree color. Before, it was a thin, watery gray, so I used more pigment and mixed a lot of blue with some yellow. I made sure to make a lot of this mixture, so I wouldn't run out and have to recreate it. I also struggled to create depth in the trees, but adding layers and paint splatter helped to make them seem less like a wall.