HOW I PAINTED THIS by TOM BROWN

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Both knives and brushes were used in creating this piece. Here’s how I painted it. When I arrived at this farm I began exploring compositions with a number of quick pencil “value” sketches like the one shown below. I carry a short mechanical pencil with a thick, soft lead and I use the side of the lead for establishing the large masses of tone. At this stage I am interested in how the big shapes of lights and darks work together rather than creating a line drawing. I use a kneaded eraser also, pinching the edge of the eraser into a thin sharp edge which I use to lift out light accents like the tree limbs. By the way, I saved this sketch and I will include it with the painting because I think it might be interesting for the buyer of the painting to see how it all began.

I started the painting with the focal point; the tractor (below). I was interested in capturing the basic shapes and colors while not belaboring it with unnecessary detail and fussiness. I got this far on the painting when passing clouds suddenly hid the sun.

I paused for a short time while the sun was hidden behind clouds because it completely changed the colors and lighting of the scene. While I waited for the clouds to pass I shot the photo below as a record of the actual setting. Notice the sheets of clear plastic on the rows of crops. These are placed over newly planted crops; I’m not entirely sure of the reason but I assume it must provide a “greenhouse” effect as well as keeping birds from the seeds.

Moments later the sun again came out and I resumed painting. I spent some time establishing the trees and limbs shown below (as I had indicated in the pencil sketch), then I put in the wall and distant mountains. From this point on it was merely a matter of taking each area to completion. I emphasized knife work in the wall behind the farm, as well as on the entire foreground areas. You can see the finished painting at the top of this blog posting.

If you found this interesting I would love to get an email from you. Thanks for stopping by, and have a colorful day. – Tom Brown

tombrownstudio@cox.net