Old Wagon Trail

Oil on canvas on panel, 6 x 6 in. - SOLD

Yesterday, my friend June and I painted at the Iverson's farm in Peoh Point. Lately, I read an article about Edger Payne on a Plein Air Magazine, and I became more interested in the works by Edger Payne and his work process. He traveled through out the country, including the Sierra on a wagon and mule to conduct field research by doing plein air paintings for large studio paintings. I'm particularly interested in his approach for composition. For this piece, I focus on composition. It was so bright and sunny in the morning light, and there was not much to play with the values in this open field. So I used the large blocks of color to create the composition. This jeep trail looks like something covered wagon might have traveled through a long time ago.

This is my plein air setup. I used the hatchback of the Subaru to create shade. My husband made this fancy curtain to cover the window to block the sun more evenly. It has two layers: off-white cotton canvas for outside to reflect heat, and black canvas for inside to block the light coming through the fabric. It's basically secured with four suction cups on each corner plus extra attachment in the middle