Pleine Aire Painting - The Farm Next Door

A lot of my paintings are created in the studio, from sketches, quick studies or photos. That allows me to spend as much time as I wish, working out composition, colour scheme, drawing and detail. I can pick up and also pause as the mood or situation dictates. The studio is warm in winter and cool in summer and there is never wind or rain or biting insects to dampen my enthusiasm.

That is all very positive, but in the end, it is difficult to beat the spontaneous simplicity of a painting created on the spot, in 'pleine aire', as they say.

In this case, I set up my french easle by the line fence between our farm and the farm next door. I painted for about an hour and a half, two days in a row. The scene is a small, old barn, which houses one horse and a bit of machinery. The field between was dotted with large round bales of hay which were waiting to be collected up for winter feed.

As you can see in the photos, the sun would eventually come around to a bad angle and I would finish for the day.

This is the scene that I was painting, although by the time I thought to take this photo, the large round hay bales had been removed from the field by the farmer.

The sky is not so interesting, either, having no cumulus clouds to create a dramatic background. The lack of hay bales in the field also diminishes the effect of the foreground. In the photo, the beginning autumn colours in the foliage are much less descernible than they were in reality.

When you paint out-of-doors you must work quickly and simply, in order to capture the scene before the light, mood or weather change too drastically. You must get the most important things done as quickly as you can. This forces you to be decisive and to take some chances with your approach. It is hard work but it is also very rewarding. Your confidence increases and with luck, your sense of accomplishment is much greater than it sometimes is on completion of a studio painting.

I framed this little painting and put it in a solo art exhibition several months after I painted it. It sold right away and alas, I had three separate patrons wanting it for their own.

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 10

In the final stage of this painting, I add more detail to the wing feathers by modelling individual feathers with a range of tone and colour. I highlight the upper edges of the feathers to create a slight shine and to further accentuate the complex plumage. More detail is also added to the eagle's head and tail feathers. The breaking light in the sky and the reflection on the water is worked up a bit more and the painting is pretty well complete. Once the signature goes on, "Between Nations" is done!

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 9

Now I add depth and detail to the eagle. The eye and heavy beak are primarily rendered with cadmium yellow, burnt sienna and white, with burnt umber and ultramarine blue mixed to create a black in the dark areas. Subtle detail is painted into the underside of the wing and the pinion feathers of the outstretched wing are highlighted to reflect the breaking sunlight.

The near wing is painted with various shades of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and burnt umber. The lighter details are mixed with the same colours, with the addition of white as well. When working with alkyd, the drying time is overnight at most, so it is easy to work these detailed areas, allow them to dry, then glaze a thin layer of colour over the entire area to unify and create depth before painting more detail on top. With traditional oils, this type of glazing can take weeks to complete.

The same process is used on the surface of the water, adding more detail and glazing over the entire area before adding more detail on top. It is a wonderful way to quickly build a feeling of animation and depth with subtle colour changes throughout. I use a wide, soft sable brush when glazing and a minimal amount of pigment mixed with a liberal amount of medium.

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 8

With the sky and distant background more or less complete, I concentrate on developing the eagle and the surface of the water. It is important to establish a feeling of flight in painting the eagle, particularly in the sweep of the wings. Once again, I use alkyd paint, thinned with Liquin to glaze over the upper wing surfaces, allowing the feather structure to show through. I have also started to model the light and shadow areas of the head and tail feathers. Next, I begin adding highlights to the reflective surfaces of the water, first with a series of darker strokes, then a series of mid-tone strokes and finally some extremely light strokes along the shore lines near the horizon and immediately below the light area of the sky where the sun is breaking through the clouds. This light colour is not pure white, however, it is a subtle mixture of ultramarine blue, burnt umber and white. The very whitest strokes will be saved for final highlights on the painting.

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 7

I have added a bit of white highlight to the edge of the cloud where the sun is trying to break through. This area was strategically placed just above the eagle's head, to help draw the eye to the eagle itself. The water now receives a glaze of ultramarine blue with a touch of burnt umber, mixed with a large quantity of liquin paint medium to make it extremely transparent. The glaze helps to unify the water's surface, although it reduces the feeling of animation somewhat. This will be rectified with carefully placed highlights later on. A dark mixture of burnt umber with a touch of ultramarine blue is used to paint in the shadowed underside of the outstretched wing and breast of the eagle. I also begin to paint in the darkest details and contours of the foreground wing with the same colour mixture.

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 6

Now I build up the intensity and detail in the trees and bridge structure.  The colours are mixed with a combination of permanent green, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and white.  Next, I begin painting over the acrylic underpainting of the water.  Initially, I had simply suggested the movement of the surface waves.  Now I begin to model the ever changing surface of the water, using three tones of blue-gray.  This gives me a dark, a mid-tone and a light colour to work with.  The mid-tone represents the general surface, reflecting the sky.  The darks suggest the deepest troughs between the waves and the lights suggest the most prominent peaks of waves, which catch the maximum light.  Taken all together they suggest liquid movement.  I add some permanent green to my darkest tone to create the reflections of the trees in the water.  

Painting Progression-Between Nations-Step 5

Now I begin my finished painting, working in alkyd paint.  I usually begin this work by painting in the sky, which is the furthest away from the viewer.  I intensify and blend the deepest shades of ultramarine & cerulean blue, mixed with white and a bit of burnt umber, at the highest point in the sky, lightening the mixture and removing the burnt umber as I move down toward the horizon.  Burnt umber has a greying effect on the blue mixture which dulls the blue of the sky. 

 As I get nearer to the horizon, I want a cleaner, brighter colour, so now I reduce the ultramarine blue, keep the cerulean blue and add more white into the mixture.  The sky should normally be darkest at the zenith and lightest at the horizon, creating a "dome" effect.

While the paint is wet and workable, I paint the clouds in, blending them softly into the sky.  The lightest and brightest colour is reserved for the area about the eagle's head, where the sun is attempting to break through the overcast.  The clouds appear to be mostly white, but there is a tint of ultramarine blue and burnt umber throughout these soft masses.  Save any pure white for final highlights where needed when the painting is almost complete.