Intermediate Watercolor Homework: Making Big Changes

The best time to make big changes in a painting is before you pick up a brush. We've all heard the same advice from every book and every teacher, "make a thumbnail study first".
I confess I don't always take the short time needed to consider the value pattern and the composition before launching into a first attempt, but I know (and you know) that it makes good sense.
In less than 5 minutes, you can try out several variations of placement and relative values of the major shapes.

Unloading the brick kiln, San Agustine Yatareni, Oaxaca

 Imagine that you can change anything you want to make this scene a better painting. The distant mountain, for example, looks attached to the kiln, sort of like a light blue hat. What if it were taller, and extended beyond the brick structure to the right? Easy to find out.
What if The narrow shape of the opening were much darker, so that the worker (Jose) stood out more? Or, would it be better to make Jose darker, so he seems more enveloped by the opening? Both options can be tested with a pencil and a scrap of paper, and two minutes time.
Look for an image that has a few overlapping shapes, or use one of these, and consider what you might change to enhance the sense of space, or simply to enliven the picture plane. Bring in your sketches, and the photo, if you can. Feel free to paint the scene, once you've made your decisions.

Market day