"Two Gander Afternoon", 12x16, oil, plein air, two gander farm, Downingtown Pa., land art events, Farm to Table plein Air, Brandywine Conservancy

"Hazy Afternoon- Two Gander Farm", 12x16, oil

Two Gander Farm is an organic farm in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and one of the Brandywine Conservancy properties on which the Farm to Table plein air painters are allowed to paint.

When I got there the skies were overcast and threatening rain, but as soon as I set up the sun came out briefly, and the landscape changed, revealing beautiful warm light on the tops of the pink rhododendrons and a nice roof shadow from the huge tree next to the farmhouse.

The farmhouse itself was in shadow this time of day, except for the roof, and as the sun started going in and out, I found myself struggling to get the correct value on the white farmhouse. I knew there was a lot of reflected light on it, making it appear warmer than it actually was, but since reflected light is still in the shadow family, I continued to struggle to get the value correct.

After about an hour of painting, the sun was gone and I realized that it was not coming back. Should I scrape out the lit roof with the tree shadow and make it an overcast day, which it truly now was? These are the dilemmas that face plein air painters all the time!

Suddenly I remembered what had attracted me to the scene to begin with. It was those few pink flowers in light that had caught my attention and so I knew I had to continue with the scene that I had started.

I don't think I pulled off the correct value on the white farmhouse, but overall I was happy with the painting anyway.

This painting will be available at the Farm to Table plein Air exhibit in October. For more information about the event, please visit my website here.