I pushed this photo in a lot of ways to get that sun glare and spots that showed up when I aimed to the western sky. Even though this is good farmland, I felt that sunny glare – not quite like that of a person staggering through a desert in mad search of water – but I did feel its intensity! Again, at a friend’s family farm.
Along the California coast, fog forms and covers the land, usually in the mornings and later in the day. It is a very standard – and annoying! – part of summers here – “May Grey” and “June Gloom” and “Goodbye July” are the standard snarks about the lack of sun! Here, another view of the farm, misty fog coming in as the afternoon moves into evening.
Another photo from the visit to a friend’s family farm. Here you can see the empty field from yesterday beyond the small cultivated area. Tom is gathering lettuce, basil, carrots, chard, cebollas and other delicious goodies while Judy and I wandered around shooting pictures, trying to get some good shots. At heart, I am a farm / country girl, and being out here was (pardon the pun) food for the soul.
Yesterday afternoon a friend invited me out to a family member’s small farm – ranch – to enjoy it, harvest some food, and take some photos. We got out there about 4:45 pm and stayed an easy 3 hours.
To the south, seen here, is a vast plowed field, ready for the next crop. We plant year-round here, varying crops with the season and the need. My friend’s family farm is just a few acres of organically grown vegetables and herbs, but surrounding it are larger commercial fields.
The flatness of the earth and the small hillocks and gouges made the lowering sun cast shadows in the dirt. I pushed the photo in contrast to see the extremes to show off textures not just in the soil, but also in the hills beyond.
More to come!
WIP means “work in progress” – and here are my current ones. Both are causing me no end of frustration – but despite that, I am having fun (or so I keep telling myself).
This is a rose which might be turning into a peony or a flower from another planet. I am using 9×12 Uart sanded paper (600) and a couple of sets of pastel pencils. The larger set has 24 colors, the other has 12. I am trying to paint a light pink rose, but there is no pencil, even combined with white, which will give me what I want. So, I carry on, and eventually I will find a stopping point. It is fun to do, and as I am not taking it seriously, I can blunder off in many directions as I learn the quirks of pastel pencils. I have soft pastels, which would be far easier, but I am determined to finish this with what I started with.
Here, more painting with the fluid acrylics. The point is to paint white on white, and so that means really looking at what is white, and what is white in shadow or with reflected color. The center of the flowers are greenish yellow with a bit of black, and there is one stem which appears greenish in the reference photo, while all the other stems are black. I can see flaws in the paint where it was diluted with water, and the brush work is not the finest. I wonder if I will need to get out the heavy body acrylics for this effort – but, again, I need to practice to learn the quirks of the fluid acrylics.
So, there we are. Done for the day.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 