This painting, titled "Fence Rows" started out as just a demo of a typical 4-value landscape. It had a nice feel to it, so I finally got around to developing it a bit more and finished it in the studio at home. The mowing rows in the hayfield really draw the eye deep into the painting, and the light on that far field, and the one yellow tree become the focal point.
All our New Hampshire hillsides are covered in late fall foliage - the peak colors have faded and now it is a wonderful collage of purple/grays and russets and deep golds. It is actually my favorite time to paint fall foliage because it creates a perfect complementary color situation. The peak season is such a riot of color that it is difficult to portray without being gaudy. So I am happy when late October and November rolls around and most of the leaves have fallen, leaving bare branches poking through for interest.
Of course, the downside of all that is that most of those leaves are piled up in our yard, which apparently is some sort of "devil's triangle" for leaves - a vortex that pulls every fallen leaf within miles to land on our two acres. We have our work cut out for us!
