"Spring Greens", 12x16, oil on panel, land art events, Brandywine Conservancy, Chester County barns, Pennsylvania landscapes, plein air, Maryanne Jacobsen art, Farm to Table plein air

"Spring Greens", 12x16, oil on panel

Here is another painting that I did during my recent trip to Pennsylvania, as I painted as a juried artist in the Farm to Table Plein Air event.

This was a lovely property on the outskirts of West Chester that had numerous out buildings, a Springhouse, barn and gorgeous historical home. The morning was incredibly bright and sunny but just as incredibly windy. I chose to paint the barn because I liked the overlapping tree shape against the roofline and the light and shadow patterns.

But I found that it was all I could do to hold onto my easel, and it managed to blow over twice before I finally realized that I had to hold it with one hand and paint with my other hand. My brush washer holding my solvent took off as a flying projectile at one point, and the grass and my apron were instantly sprayed with solvent. I also lost the S-clip that held my brush washer to my easel and that annoyed me greatly since I knew I'd have to paint the rest of the trip with the solvent holder on the ground. Only a big deal if you have a bad back, which I do.

The lady painting behind me (a pastel painter)  had brought a brick, and she used that to weight down her easel. I didn't have a brick, and so I painted the entire time with the disadvantage of having no more solvent and having to hold onto my easel for dear life.

The painting progressed anyway, but I knew I'd have to make some corrections to the perspective in the end, because I couldn't adequately measure and paint with only one hand free.

With all that green, I knew some vivid color was needed, and since there was evidence that some marigolds and day lillies had been planted around the barn and fence, I took the liberty to embellish their growth in the painting.

I have to admit that that was the fun part of this painting- putting some flowers in at the end. In addition to losing  my solvent and S-clip, I ended up with poison ivy on my arms as a result of scouring around afterwards and trying to find the little clip! (Which I never did find.)

This is one of the paintings that will be included in the Farm to Table Plein Air culminating event on October 26th. For more information please check it out on my website!