Oaks and Mustard in Brea Canyon

 The rain had greened the hills around my home more than any time I could remember.  The mustard is also more abundant than any time I could remember.  Many of the trees that have suffered have come back to a deep green.  Of course many other trees seem to be past the point of no return.  The hills and canyons have long been a favorite subject of mine.  I felt compelled to capture them before the late spring turns their color.

 This is the most simple start that I have made to date.  The goal is to spend more time in the development of the painting at the later stages.  Time is always at a premium and my change in approach is intended to emphasize the quality of the finish of the painting.

 I am adding the shapes of the trees and the weeds on the hill to fill in the composition.

 Here I am furthering the shapes of the trees and weeds.  I am trying to strike a balance between the light and dark areas and their patterns.  

 I am working to develop the range of values and colors throughout the painting.  You can see the start of the depth being created through the distant hills.

 Here I am defining the hill and the trees by painting what they are not.

 The stronger the initial composition the easier it is to stay on track.  I started to have difficulty with the shapes in the painting.  I ended up changing elements of the painting.  It seemed like I was getting farther away from what I was trying to say.

 This moment became pivotal in the development of the painting.  I see fellow painters get stuck in their problem solving.  They become tentative and unsure of themselves.  Realizing that you have made a mistake can be crippling to the creative process.  Instead of allowing your instincts to guide you; you start to overthink, over analyse, and become insecure in your efforts.  The end result is usually bad execution.

I took the opposite approach to the problems within the painting.  I could have accepted the results I had attained and packed it up.  I chose to dive into the areas of opportunity and push through the mistakes.  I took a "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" approach.  I pushed the painting forward with more action and less thought.  That is not to say I did not think about what was wrong.  It was quite the opposite.  I evaluated the painting, saw what was missing, and then tried to correct that with more action.  I do not wipe areas of the painting, I lay down more paint.

 I got to a point where I was satisfied with the shapes.  It was the best I could do so I accepted it and moved on.  Every painting cannot be everything you want it to be.  It is another step towards your developmental goals. 

You can really see the difference in the color when the sun was upon painting.

 The finished painting 24x32 plein air oil on board.

The value shot.

The detail shot.