The first thing that hits me when looking at this piece is the original idea of an alien cityscape under a brilliant sunset. The mountains and the sky in the background only work to enhance the city because of their quality without anything outstanding to distract from the object of the art (some could say that would need improving but I certainly think that style is perfect!). The attention to detail on the city is exquisite and inspiring along with the originality design of the buildings shows the amazing ability and creativity of the artist. However, the finest point of this piece isn't in the detail... in my opinion it is the wow-factor that can't be described and the real impact it has as a whole. it's just beautiful.

I'm going to start out by saying that this painting is absolutely beautiful. I find the warm tones inviting. The fact that you used the 1/3 rule with not only the horizon, but for placing important elements like the tower on the right and the sun on the left helps make the piece feel balanced yet not symmetrical.

There is a full range of values throughout the piece, from white to black, which also helps the painting feel balanced. Now only are the brush strokes nice and clean, but they also have a simplicity to them that helps this art to look painterly. The choice of blue for the lights across the cityscape is a very good choice. The cool blues against the warm orange hues creates the perfect contrast. The very subtle mountains in the background, although are only slightly noticeable, really push the idea of depth in the painting. I commend you for your attention to details like these!

All that said, this painting has everything I believe to be key elements in a great painting, even if it was only meant to be a practice painting! Keep painting like this, and your future work will continue to be truly astounding!