This painting was quite a challenge for me. Well, I was trying to challenge myself not to rush through it and think it through a bit more than I usually do. But, I did get stuck at moments.
It began with the sky. Whenever I am unsure of myself, I can always start with the sky, it is a motivator for me and one part of my paintings that I have a bit of confidence in.
As I was working on the sky, it helped me to decide what I'd like to do next. I wanted a silo, wheat field and a barn too. So I began researching silos, wheat and barns. When I decided on what I liked and where I would put them on the canvas, instead of just starting to paint them in, I actually, quickly sketched the barn and silo with pencil, which is not something I normally do. I was on to painting shortly after the research finished, because with acrylic paint, the sky and horizon were already dry. Acrylic dries fast.
I went ahead and painted in the base color of my land where the wheat would be and played with the sky some more. I knew I needed to make everything on the left side of the barn darker and place my shadows just so because the sun was actually coming from the right side. I worked on this through out each step of the painting.
To make the wheat in the foreground stand out more I had to darken the shadows and field even more. Knowing I wanted the sun to be hitting my most forward wheat, I began placing it in here and there with white paint.
I got stuck for awhile on my wheat. I kept going lighter and lighter and it continued to blend in with my sky until I was pretty frustrated. It wasn't until I bit the bullet and went darker on the wheat did I fix the problem. Then I was able to highlight the wheat to make it look as if the sun was hitting it.
But, oh that barn, I couldn't figure out what was wrong. It looked too perfect and that's when I began working on the roof, giving it some age.
I gave it a road, added more wheat and still wasn't happy. It was the barn, I knew it was, but just couldn't think of what exactly it was about the barn.
Though adding those elements helped, it wasn't until I actually aged the wood that it came to life. Put some holes and places where the wood had chipped away and was finally was able to move on.
A bit of light coming from the hole in the roof down into the inside of the barn, darken up the sky a bit more on the left. Bring a few clouds on the horizon on the right. Fix the silo shading. And I think I've got a finished painting.
Growing up, scenes like this weren't something I noticed everyday, in fact not very often at all. But there is something so inviting and breathtaking about the countryside, I would be happy living in a barn with this as my yard. Wish I would have paid more attention to details like this while growing up.
I hope you enjoy my wheat field, barn and silo. I really loved painting this scene and learned quite a bit from the experience.
This is an acrylic painting on stretched canvas. If you would like a print of this particular work, please visit my store by clicking below to view the posters.
