Repaint a Painting?

Some girlfriends and I went to Creative Juice Art Bar to paint a desert monsoon.  Our friend was moving to the green, rainy, lush Pacific Northwest.  A farewell to the desert with a monsoon painting seemed like the perfect going-away-party-and-present!

Following the teacher's step-by-step instructions we each made our own creation.  I love how they all look similar, but each painting has it's own style, there are variations in shades of color, unique brush strokes, and different details.  This is what we ended up with! 

But after a month of hanging in my living room, I have to ask, is it OK to re-paint a painting?

There are so many things I like about this painting, the clouds, the lightning, the bright horizon, and most of all, that it represents summer in the desert.  But I do not like the foreground.  The base in brown, as if the whole foreground is in the shadows.  In the studio I attempted to lighten it up with some reds and yellows and even some white, but it is still too dark for my taste. 

I also think it is too monochromatic .  The lightness of the sky does not predict the darkness of the foreground.  And in my dark living room the cactus blends into the dark background so much it is non-existent. 

So I've been on-line looing for inspiration in paintings and photos. 

The coloring in this photo is very similar to my painting.  Bright sky, orange horizon, and dark foreground with the details only appearing in shadows. 

This photo is more of what I want my painting to look like.  I love the light coming from the right, illuminating the saguaros, prickly pear, ocotillo, and other desert details in the foreground as well as the bright clouds up above.

Here is another photo with a light foreground and dark sky.  I like how this one actually has lightning. 

This painting gives me hope that some of the beauty of the photographs can be recreated with paint.  Once again, I love the bright yellows and vibrant greens in the foreground. 

I'm no artist, but Yes, I am going to say that I can re-paint my painting!  

I'll keep you updated.