Rice Harvesting in Woodland CA

Was at the Conaway Ranch this morning trying to find a place to sketch and paint.  It was cool and breezy looking over 26,000 acres of rice fields that had been harvested.  Lots of birds in the water and trenches of the field.  I spotted this harvester that was back lit with the rising sun.  Below was a water channel and there were many grasses that reached very high along the borders. 
The way that I proceeded was to wet the sky area and around the harvester down to the horizon.  I dropped 3 primary colors in spots and then tilted the board and mixed them.  I laid it down on the road to dry but it was quickly found by ants.  Next I wet the harvester and distant bank of the waterway and dropped 3 primary staining colors in and mixed them.  A halo was left around the harvester and some grasses with a candle.  Back lighting produces a silhouette so no details were painted on the harvester.  The foreground was warmer and again, all grasses.  I painted these and left a little white for the water. 
Overall, I liked the concept but this is probably a studio project.

Top Lighting

This is a fun exercise in saving the white of your paper. With overhead lighting the tops are left white so a wonderful design appears. The buildings are done with the paper flat and wet and the colors are dropped in the wet and then mixed by tilting the paper back and forth. the same is done for the background. The paper is then tilted upright and finished. Some boats were put in the front and the reflections were drawn out with the graded wash of the water not yet dry. The entire painting is really done on a semi wet paper. It is a lot like a back lit painting when there are no details to the structures.