Number 84: Still A Lot of Green...

Out Standing in a Field, 5x7 - Oil on Canvas Panel

I just went out walking in one of the fields out behind my house for this one. I wanted to take my brand-spankin' new Open Box M out for a plein air spin and find some autumn color. Although the trees around here have been changing, and the leaves have been dropping, it seems that the main colors I'm seeing are still green.

I trudged up to the top of a hill and saw this little masterpiece as I looked down. Orange-reds of cedars cut down in the spring along with some autumn yellows of an old elm tree just standing by itself in a grazing field.

My primary goal in the composition of this one was to balance the lights with the darks and highlight the contrast between the two. There is a lot of light colored loess soil in the The Loess Hills of western Iowa which changes dramatically depending on the direction of the light. There are also a multitude of grasses ranging from the lighter tall grasses to the darker and greener short grasses.

All in all, this is probably one of the more difficult paintings I've done considering the many different green values and their close proximity to one another. But, standing back, I'm happy with the end result - for now!