Silos in Blue, watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper, 13x20 (detail)[Note: I've edited my post on 8/20 to include the detail above, in order to allow viewers to see some of the texture and brushwork.]
First Act: "Silos in Blue" is my third attempt at painting this scene. I had often seen this farm with two large silos, in the distance, as I drove home from work in Boulder. I liked the color of the silos against the pale yellow grasses that surrounded it in the fall. So when winter was over, I hiked to a point from which I could view and sketch the scene.Only now the scene was quite different, the grass was greener, I could no longer see the hills in the background from that position, and instead of long shadows, I had the sun high in the sky. So I did a small study on site, but added a lot of the elements I was missing, such as the color and shadows, from imagination. The result was "Blue Silos," watercolor on Arches CP paper, 6x10 inches (left).
Second Act: Some months later, I decided to do a larger studio version on a half sheet of yupo synthetic paper. I moved the slightly silos off center, and tried to create a cruciform composition by introducing two fence posts in the foreground. This second version is shown here on the left, "Silos in Blue," watercolor on Yupo, 13x20 inches.Third Act: Early viewers kept giving me the feedback that the poles were too distracting, that the complexity of the middle ground called for a simpler foreground treatment.
I finally took the advice and changed the foreground, taking advantage of the ease of lifting or wiping off entire sections on yupo.
This is the third version of this painting, but is it THE END? ...or is this play open to a sequel? Only time will tell.
