In 2006 I took a vacation in south-central Pennsylvania and Maryland, and as always I took a lot of rural reference photos. I painted a few scenes from these photos and this is one of them. It was harvest time when I was traveling and the corn was being harvested. When the corn was cut it left sharp distinctions between remaining corn and stubble in the rest of the field. I found the geometric patterns of field and farm buildings satisfying. Pennsylvania especially was a land of neat, precise farm setups, where every stalk of hay seemed to be in place. Perhaps it was the result of the industrious, methodical German farm folk who ran these places. This scene particularly appealed to me for its geometric linearity. Painting is 14" x 11", acrylic on board, August-September 2006.
I copied this rather literally from the photo I took, and in later paintings I made sure not to do that. I don't intend to be a "photo-realist," though I want to be somewhat precise in my renderings. I also wanted to convey the peacefulness of farmland in late August afternoon haze.
1 comment:
It is pretty photo real, but nice anyway. Funny how I would never do a painting just like this or buy one, but I d see the apeal. Now, if there was an alien or strange creature (or nude man) in the picture, I would LOVE it!
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