A few weeks ago, our plein air painting group met at Davis Family Farms. Some stayed near the shop to paint while others of us hopped aboard the hay wagon and were hauled out to the pumpkin patch, driven by tractor and one of our plein air members, with assistance from the farm owner.
It was a gray day threatening rain, but not enough to stop us from painting. I brought an umbrella just in case, but still had some light rain drops add texture to my painting. Luckily it never rained hard enough that morning to make me dash for cover.
Below is the tractor and wagon with several painters working under cover.
After taking numerous photos for future reference, I found the scene I wanted to paint and went to work.
I used a 24 x 24 inch canvas I was reclaiming after washing off the previous unsuccessful image. Here’s the drawing over the top of the ghost image.
I started with a loose painting of watercolors to cover the canvas.
Then I went to work with soft pastels over the dry watercolor paint.
I wasn’t able to finish on site, so once back home I went to work in my studio, using the photos I’d taken to refresh my memory.
The finished painting “Pumpkin Patch” and several other paintings of mine will be hanging at Timberhill Athletic club during the month of November.
Jana R. Johnson, Artist 