Turkey Run Meadow

Turkey Run Meadow, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

#stradaeasel, day 16

Yay! I finally got outside - no rain until this evening, so I took advantage of it. After my dog and I took a 3 mile walk at a local park, I sat in my car and painted. I think I was smilng the whole time 

Big Prarie Meadow 2

Big Prairie Meadow 2, oil on gessoed board, 9x12"

I did a smaller, quick sketch of this scene, just a couple of posts ago on location just to see if I wanted to do a larger  version.  I started round 2 on site as well. I blocked the composition in with the same palette, and changed a few things that were occurring, such as light. I also zoomed in just a tad.  I finished it in the studio from photos.  The gessoed board is a different brand then normal (Speedball as opposed to Ampersand) and has more of a slippery surface.  This trips me up a bit at the start, so I have found through trial and error, that I work better in shifts on this brand of board, allowing the layers to settle but not dry. I love the way this turned out....vibrant color and abstract layers of the landscape.

Big Prarie Meadow

Big Prarie Meadow, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

This is a quick "sketch" if you will of Big Prairie Meadow, an area of Bernheim Forest and Arboretum that is filled with wild grasses, wild flowers, butterflies, various species of birds and forest rodents, and is the home to quail! It is also filled with sunshine most of the day. When I set my easel up on a hilly overlook this particular morning, a controlled burn was taking place at the farthest point away from where I was. I chose not to add it too the painting because it would have been confusing. But it added beautiful wafting silver smoke in the distance to the already bright and colorful landscape.