Oil on Linen Canvas, 18 x 26 inches
Slightly out of season this one, but it's been kicking around in my studio for a few weeks and had the chance to finish it off yesterday.
I've always loved painting straw stacks, and I saw this view whilst driving home from Stamford - just had to pull over and take a few photos. The 'hook' really was the beautiful cloud formation, looking almost straight into the light, with the sunlight bouncing off the roofs of the little row of station cottages. I played around with the composition a little and moved the big foreground stack over to the right to puncture through the skyline, which might have appeared a little dull.
Having blocked in the shape of the big stack, I employed my 1" household decorator's brush to pile on quite thick layers of texture to describe the straw. I just love the versatility of oil paint - it can be used delicately, and piled on for impact - lush!
I really like the colour variation in the hay field and stacks and the great sense of depth in the scene.
ReplyDeleteJane
Thank you very much Jane - that's just what appealed to me to want to paint it!
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