Revision

I was in the studio bright and early to work on this, going one by one through the list of "challenge" areas.

1) Made the background a distinct color, added medium to get the right consistency, did the same with the shadow colors.

2) Carefully observed the shadow  and saw that the shape of it needed to be extended and that it had alot more color in it than I had seen at first.

3) The foreground then needed to come up in value to get the right contrast.I mixed each section with the palette knife, varying each one.

4) Gave a bit more definition to the 3 front shapes. They are actually fringe on the fabric, which is a long woven sash. It's ok with me if the viewer doesn't understand everything, it's better to me when there are areas that invite you to look closer.

5) Defined the edge of the shovel, also increased intensity in some spots.