New Daily Oil Painting "Oak Knoll Farm"

Oak Knoll Farm
Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
2014

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Yesterday I posted some pictures of this little painting in progress (http://paintdailytexas.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-daily-oil-painting-of-hay-bales-in.html.)  It was a hectic day and hard to get in painting time and at the end of the day I wasn't really satisfied with this canvas.  The drawing and composition seemed strong, but overall the painting was kind of dull.  I was very happy with the initial lay in of the tree, but the background seemed kind of flat and the foreground and hay bales just weren't focused enough. After letting it sit over night I came back to it in the morning and re-worked the whole painting.


I started by punching up the color in the hay bales, adding brighter oranges and even some very light yellow green tints along with some soft greenish blue highlights.  I added some violet and light blues to the distant tree line in the background and brightened the field as well.  The tree gained some red and green highlights and the foreground gained some needed definition, particularly the patch of dirt in front of the hay bale.  I also punched up the sky with a light yellow and broke up the dark shadows of the hay and foreground grass with some ultramarine blue.


Overall I'm pretty pleased with this painting now.  I enjoy the layered depth the color takes on with the added, thicker impasto paint on top. Oak Knolls Farm is a beautiful little stretch of land.  I've been thinking of doing some more of the area but focused more on the beautiful and graceful oaks.  This is only my second time to ever paint hay.  It always seemed a little too much like walking in Monet's shadow, but I'm learning to let go of any hangups I still have left over about that and just paint what I enjoy. I hope you enjoy it too!