Preparing to Paint a Fine Art Oil Painting

When working inside my studio I begin to prepare mentally to paint a landscape.  I start by looking at all my good photographs that I have taken of the scene.  I might pull some local photos that I have had on my mind to paint.  I will pin them to my wall and look at them for a couple of weeks and get an idea of a colour scheme before I attempt to go out to the scene with my french easel.  If it's a good size painting I will do some small studies first and then use them as a reference as I am painting the large painting.