Friday, April 27, 2012

PLEIN AIR MADNESS PART 2


    "Ennis Tractor"   12" x 16"   oil/linen

Along Shadow Ridge Road in Ennis last weekend I got all caught up in capturing the last remaining bluebonnets when I came across this beautiful piece of machinery. Old tractors are a lot like old barns in that they stir up all kinds of thoughts about the person that used this tractor, probably for several decades, tolling away in the Texas heat trying to scratch out a living and support a family. Many times a tractor like this is passed down from one generation to the next. 

The challenge in doing a painting like this en plein air is there is a lot of drawing involved and knowing how to draw perspective is important. And of course after just having gotten rid of a very bad case of chiggers a couple of weeks ago, standing in tall grass to do this painting made me a little nervous. I was feeling scratchy before I even finished the painting.