I started this painting as a demo for a local high school class (I was just demonstrating the start process). After first working out the design of the painting on paper, I used a thin monochrome wash of yellowish raw umber mixed with a little liquin and applied the block in very quickly by wiping on the thin paint with a paper towel. This is a 16" x 20" oil primed linen.
After the block had dried I painted the middle ground, hills and sky using a thin layer or opaque paint. I also applied a thin wash of transparent paint to the foreground. My goal at this stage was just to get the values as close as I could.
When the previous layer of paint was dry I repainted all the sky, the distant hills, and painted the foreground. I painted each area using both a cool color and warm color.
I repainted the grass and the trees (basically the entire middleground). I paid special attention to the tree edges where they meet the sky and hills. I added some cooler notes to the distant foreground and played around with some other ideas which didn't quite work - those got taken out. The painting is getting close to completion, but needs time to dry before the next bits are added.
The latest additions were some scumbling around the silo and a texture added to the foreground. I also straightened up the pine tree which was leaning left. These were intended to be finishing touches but, like most painters, I'm terrible at deciding when a painting is finished, so I'll put it to one side and see if I find anything I want to change after a few days have passed.
Burkittsville Road. 16" x 20" oil on linen. 2014
And here it is finally completed. I did a little more scumbling of the distant mid ground trees and added a few warmer color notes to the foreground. At this point it feels finished and I won't make any more changes.