The Weekly Spectrum - New Hampshire Farm & Stone Walls

   Everything is still the same, only the title has changed. I thought I had read that somewhere once before, but couldn't remember from where. Be that as it may, the change in the blog title makes sense: "The Weekly Spectrum." Since ending the gallery wall talks series, I've been focusing strictly on using oils again as a primary medium. As just about everyone knows, oil paints take much longer to dry than say, watercolors or acrylics. I have to wait until the paint dries at least somewhat in order for my husband to photograph them without getting a glaring shine. As such, my blogging has been less frequent. Other factors such as schedule changes in our professional lives (we are much busier in the summer), as well as an overdue surgery, all contributed as to why I haven't posted anything in over a week and a half. These scenarios also made me take stock in how realistic my expectations were, and what they are now becoming. Now that we have that out of the way, onward to today's painting!

   This painting was worked on between May 25th through the 31st. In typical fashion, it began with a Burnt Umber sketch and a first layer of color added to the sky and fields (wherever the under-painting would not blend in). Then I let that paint dry. The sky got a touch of crimson to it to represent the evening sun. The trees, cows, barn, and house were then painted in. The stone wall was also done in layers in varying shades of grey. I used a fan brush to paint the foreground grass. At that point, I was satisfied and called it done.

   As I was typing this, my husband asked me where exactly in New Hampshire was this farm. To my best recollection, the farm was located just over the Maine / New Hampshire line in the East-Central part of the state, possibly near Rte. 25, but I'm not sure. We always take the less traveled state routes and back roads to get to most of our destinations. Many times, I will see something like this farm (or whatever else tickles my fancy) and have him stop the car so I can photograph the subject for future reference. The challenge with this farm, was that I photographed it over 15 years ago! So, at this point, your guess is as good as mine!

Until next time,
The Happy Painter,
Jill