Hey!
Really appreciate the criticism, and I totally see where you're coming from (since I think I experimented with pretty much what you have asked me to do when I was making this piece).
However, there are a couple of reasons why I decided to go with the intensly dark colour for the trees. Firstly, I really liked the gold and black contrast that it creates, especially since that's essentially what helps to seperate the sky and the water from eachother. Secondly, looking at reference photos, the tree line really does get that dark, as can be seen here for example: https://tinyurl.com/yczt3hv9
Anyway, since it _is_ valid criticism, I'll definitely have a second look at the palette in the hopes of trying to figure out if there is a good "in between" colour.
Great work especially on the sky
but the color of the trees is too dark (especially since it is quite far away the farther away something the closer its colors will be to the background) which creates a strong glaring contrast but that can help guide the eyes to the focal point but once the eyes are there it becomes a bit too overwhelming
I get the look you are trying to convey instead you should try to swap the colors of the trees for a light yet relatively dark red or pink color to give the idea that light is still passing through the trees instead of just being a sort of void
but I am not trying to bash on this-this is a truly wonderful piece
I love the palette. These are my favorite kinds of pictures - ones that convey serentiy, or some other kind of emotion. Well done!