Barn at Chowdown Farm

Another hot day coming up but it is not hot at 8AM.  Our Yolo ArtAg farm for this month's paintout is the Chowdown Farm in Esparto.  I found my way around to the back of the barn because the sun was there.  It is a great old barn that stands in the weeds and is still used.  This side of the barn is pretty much boarded up.  I like the finding of reddish boards used to close the openings.  It was a wonderful morning of painting except for the disturbing gun shots that continued all morning.  I later found out that the sounds are played from a recording to keep birds out of the orchard.

I painted under an umbrella that has a solar shield.  I need to get used to it's effect on my color since the reds came out much redder than they appeared on wet paper.  All in all, a wonderful morning of painting.  Eventually, the flies found me and kept pestering.  It always takes awhile but when you are found they don't quit, so I quit.

Air Conditioned Barn II

Good morning for painting today, until the wind came.  This barn is located about 10 minutes from me.  I've painted it several times from different views.  Every year the barn loses a few more boards but the farmer still stores his hay and tractor inside.  No patching or repairs have been undertaken, so it has developed character.  There were sheep in the yard the last time that I painted it. 

I put a bungy cord around my paint box and clamped my paper block down.  I think that painting with the wind blowing is the most difficult condition of all.  I keep my paper wet and let the paints run.  I set my paper on a vertical so there are plenty of drips.  In the past I would get bothered with the running water and color but now, I know that I can just blot or lift it if dry.  The paint just works better on a wet paper.