If I had painted this a few years ago it would have contained much more colour. This painting though is done with the same restricted palette used for classical portraits: black, white and three primaries (see the Elizabeth Farren post below).
The composition relies on diagonal flow lines to tie it in, and triangles of light and dark as I try to mass the tonal areas.
I have also tried to work with extremes of finishing: the background sky is more detailed than the loose foreground.
The scene is my children on our last day at Lake Coniston in the Summer.