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Silos and the Sierra

A few weeks ago, I went to Tulare. As usual, I chose back roads. There were orchards in bloom, greenery everywhere, and snow on the Sierra Nevada. There is often snow there but it isn’t always so visible from the flatlands. (Smog comes down the Altamont Pass from the Bay Area and collects in the Central Valley.)

Agriculture is the biggest industry in Tulare County, and there is more to ag than citrus, although you might not know that if you look at my art. I don’t get out very often, so when I saw this field of some kind of grain (prolly for cattle to eat or perhaps for dairy cows) with the silos and the mountains beyond, I pulled over.

The base coat, easy stuff.
It looked easy, so I started with the sky, corrected the mountain blue/lavender, and then decided to try the grains. Then, I just kept going.
It was a little tricky to paint into wet paint, but the practice is good for me.

The end of the day has low light, so I took it outside to get a better photo. The color is weird on the silos and buildings, not just because of the low light, but because the mountain blue/lavender paint got mixed in. That is a risk of painting wet into wet. (Sometimes I live out on the edge, painting wet into wet or pulling over on the side of the road for photographs.)

All that remains is to get those mountains right and correct the color on the silos and buildings. I left off a giant house because it didn’t seem important. I’m the boss of my painting, not the photographs or reality (unless it is a commissioned piece).

P.S. There won’t be any wildflowers.

6 Comments

  1. I like the silo. Nicely done.
    I wandered up Yokohl Valley yesterday, sketchbook in hand. The scent was a bit of heaven! There were no flowers around when this lovely scent, something like Montana’s sweet clover, would come through my windows. It certainly wasn’t orange blossoms. Do you happen to know what it is?

    • Donna, thank you! I like the silo painting quite a bit too. I bet Yokohl Valley was gorgeous. As far as the scent, it could have been orange blossoms because it isn’t that far from the groves. Buckeye trees can be pretty fragrant. . . were they in bloom?

  2. Thanks for sharing. Your enlightened into the world of painting has been intriguing and insightful.

    • Bill, I appreciate hearing that. When I do nothing but paint and show the process, I wonder if my readers are bored out of their minds!

  3. Hey, I could manage to paint the “base coat!” Beyond that, I’ll leave it in the capable hands of the Central Valley Artist.

    P.S. No wildflowers??

    • I don’t know what sort of wildflowers would be acceptable with a field of unknown grain.

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