Back on the Farm: Birch Rd.

40  F  Mostly cloudy & WINDY!

It's been a week since my last paint, so many distractions so much cloud cover, but I was back from Christmas and the there was a little thinning of the clouds, I found this scene.

#454  Birch Rd.

14 x 16

When I saw the rushing stream with the silos in the back, (a few unresponsive cows) I had to stop.

Warm lights.

This kind of scene is challenging because when you look at the reflection off the water, the ground around it looks very dark, when you look at the ground and not the water, it looks lighter and greener. This is the best illustration of how looking with your own eyes is far different that looking at a photograph.

There were a lot of weird things going on, the shape of the opposite side of the creek was dramatic, maybe too much.

The wind was kicking up and whoosh the easel went over!

This is where I stopped, after about 1 1/2 hrs.  The wind had died down and I was able to fiish. The light was moving lower and the contrast between the reflection and everything else was increasing, I liked that.

This is the scene at the end.

Sight-size shot.

This has been my least productive month in a long time,  I'm resolved not to panic, everything ebbs and flows, and a short break can help gain just a little perspective. None the less it was great to be back out there painting, the clouds and the wind, just  nuisances.