Exercise 2 - Foreground, middle ground and background

I think I work best from life rather than photos, or trying to invent landscapes so I took the car to a view overlooking the valley and drew this.

Is there a feeling of depth? Maybe the distant hills are a bit dark so they don't recede enough but I think the foreground tree stands out well. I took a rubber to the background when I got home. I think this may be a bit better (strangely it's scanned lighter too)

On the way back I stopped to draw a more urban landscape in Fineliner and dried up felt tip

This definitely doesn't have a feeling of depth. Everything crowds in on you. I tried adding colour at home to see if I could push the distance back

Not much better but it was fun trying.

I'm not good at simplifying and selecting. I'd like to think that I'd be better if there were leaves on the trees but I think that's just an excuse. Distance is a matter of being more light and sketchy in the background and bolder in the foreground and although I understand the theory in practice this has only been marginally successful because I find it hard to give up on detail. More practice needed here, maybe when I can get out of the car and find with a landscape that excites me more. The light has been very flat when I have been working so I've had to imagine the light and shade a bit, again I think I need more practice when there is real contrast to be seen and interpreted.
Overall I need a lot more practice in this genre as I find very difficult to get pictures that I'm happy with.