Celebrate Autumn with Gallery Glass

This is the beginning of a special time of year. After the long schedule-less days of summer, the exacting routine of school days and the onset of extra-curricular activities with their weekly practices brings a new excitement to the air. The foliage is turning and the landscape is suddenly resplendant with reds, yellows and oranges. Some of the most exciting changes take place in the garden. Vibrant green vines begin to yield succulant fruits and vegetables. Let's celebrate the harvest with Gallery Glass.
The picture above is a 16x20" panel and I will tell you right up front that I didn't paint it. I don't know who did, it was in an old Plaid book and it was not painted by the people who designed the pattern, so the artist is anonymous. I like the pattern and I think that the subject and arrangement are okay. But I'm not crazy about the end results. The leading and painting could have been more expert, but the main problem is scale. The size of the panel is much too small for the amount of detail. Your goal in Gallery Glass should always be BIG, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL! Also, the photography is not good. The panel was photographed against a white background and even though the actual painted background is clear, you can't see through the panel which hides the texture. The bumpy texture of the clear is one of the virtues of Gallery Glass that allows it to resemble the appearance of REAL stained glass and increases the perceived value of the piece. Here is another example from the same book:

This basket of flowers is a good composition and could be beautiful, but again it suffers from bad technique. And the same white backdrop was used in the photography. I always take pictures of Gallery Glass in a window with natural lighting. That's the best way to highlight the texture because you have "shape" behind the texture or it doesn't show up at all.
I would like to challenge some of you to a contest. See what you can do with these pictures. You have to keep most of the original elements and you must send a picture of it for me to post. I will send you a Gallery Glass gift--just for helping us improve the looks of either of these pictures. I will give you a tip. They both need to be larger than the size they were originally done.
I would go to 18x24" or even better - 24x36" on the Garden Harvest picture. You can buy a poster frame with styrene in it--and you will have a wonderful Autumn Harvest piece to hang in a window--at home or at the office. The Flower basket should be at least a 16x20".
Let's see what you can do. I would also welcome comments about the painting technique. It's not very good. Can you tell me what is wrong with it. Be specific.

These are the colors for the pictures:

16x20" Garden Harvest -Gallery Glass Paints:

01 or 81 Crystal Clear, 02 Snow White, 03 Cameo Ivory, 04 Sunny Yellow, Orange Poppy, 06 Canyon Coral, 07 Cocoa Brown, 08 Kelly Green, 09 Emerald Green, 12 Royal Blue, 14 Amethyst, 15 Ruby Red, 17 Magenta Royale, 18 Charcoal Black, 19 Gold Sparkle, 20 Amber, 24 Ivy Green, 35 Lime Green, 

11x14" Flower Basket -Gallery Glass Paints: 01 or 81 Crystal Clear, 02 Snow White, 03 Cameo Ivory, 04 Sunny Yellow, Orange Poppy, 06 Canyon Coral, 07 Cocoa Brown, 08 Kelly Green, 09 Emerald Green, 10 Denim Blue, 11 Blue Diamond, 12 Royal Blue, 14 Amethyst, 15 Ruby Red, 16 Rose Quartz, 20 Amber, 24 Ivy Green