Roadside painting

Here is a spot on the back road to Porrona.  I loved the way the dirt road curves through the scene, vanishes for a bit and then reappears on the left.  I painted right on the side of the road as there was hardly anyone passing on this back road near Cinigiano.  A few farm tractors passed, but that was about it.

calm morning, blue sky

There was not a lot of shadowed areas in this painting, I sketched the shapes and then tried to get the few shadows placed accurately.  Then some extra light sky value.

drawing with burnt Siena

Next it was a matter of dealing with the greens, the grasses where bright and yellowish up front and I had to gray down the distant grass to make things work.  The interesting part was the dark greens in the upright forms of the trees and bushes.  I usually mix my own greens but I also modify oxide of chromium green with orange and red to get the darker values. These rich greens are usually placed over a thinner layer of near black that I make for shadowed green areas with alizarin crimson and french ultramarine blue.

the wide view

Adding thicker paint -the shadow is now gone from the road and it is getting too hot 

I did a bit of finishing back on the front porch and in the end I didn't have to go back to the site for a second day.  Working at home the sky was completed and the foreground tree was developed.  The tree's edges were kept soft against the sky.  Below is the finished piece:

Strada Tra I Campi, Toscana  o/c  30x40cm  - available at the Stage Door Gallery