“Summer Storm Passing”

A Farm Painting, step by step~

Spring and summer are great seasons to go out for a drive in farm country. Here in the mid west, there are so many beautiful views of rolling farmland, I just had to create another farm painting. Here is my take on just one such farm.

The first step in this farm painting is to lay out the composition and sketch in the values- the lights and darks that lead the eye into the work. I usually do this with a dark warm grey or taupe glaze, very gestural and quick, then allow that to dry completely.

The sky in this painting is a bit ominous right now- but the storm has passed and the sun will be shining from the left, shortly. The far tree line is softly indicated along with the far fields.

Here I’ve added the background colors to the foreground cornfields, road, meadow grasses and pond. I tend to work on completing the farthest areas first and layering colors and details to define the composition.

Here, the sky is completed and some of the details of the farm buildings show how the sun has lit up the sides. The left cornfield shows it’s rows curving around the hill, and the shape of the mowed hill next to the pond is more defined.

I’ve added tassels to the corn in the right foreground field and the dried grasses and weeds around the pond. The farm buildings are complete, I could move right in. Standing back, I could see it needed something though…..

Cows. It needed some cows out there in that meadow, so I put some in.

The cows needed a way to get down to the pond and the pond needed some waterlilies for sparkle as it reflects the sky. A few brush strokes of paint took care of those few details.

I’m gonna call this one done.

It’s a pretty little painting, just 12 x 24 on artist’s canvas. I will let this one go for $200.00 unframed. $250.00 framed. SOLD