You're doing well, but I think that the sky and the flat desert should be the same value. This painting is quite tricky because so much of it is close in value to each other. To communicate the shapes better you can make some artistic choices by grouping some of the values. Try make the sky and desert uniform with your middle value, and make the whole cliff side you dark value. The shadows of the cliffside close by can be grouped in your darkest value. Next post…

I would preserve your lightest value to the figure clad in white, and make the sand running down the cliffside your next lightest value. You are correct in assessing that the horse is actually very dark in its value. If you would just mark the highlights on the horse with a lighter value it can help bring out the shape a bit more. It's a tricky exercise, but you're doing well! Keep up the good work!

@BenjaminBrinckmann thank you! It’s funny because I started with the sky and ground being the same value but I think the dripping sand confused me and then I started making changes to my original choices. Will definitely keep practicing this exercise but I think I’ll try to find something easier to work with until I get the hang of it😅