Field “of Dreams” Ranch with background

Our final day of En Plein Air TEXAS 2020 was a busy one as everyone finalized their last paintings for Thursday's judging and gala event. I finished three paintings earlier in the day before running out to our final ranch, the Field Ranch west of San Angelo.
As a result of my earlier activities I had little time to explore the ranch, select a painting subject and execute the painting, and the owners of the Field Ranch, Tim and Jennifer Crutchfield, were exceptionally gracious hosts as I arrived late in the day. I quickly picked one of the first subjects I saw and set a short time limit for myself (1 hour). I was positioned looking directly in the sun to silhouette most elements of the scene, and I had no shade to paint in so I used my van for shelter. It is always interesting to me how short time limits often result in a direct approach and the work winds up with a unique energy and vitality - I believe that that has happened in this instance. Fortuitously the wind blew the windmill into a position that simplified its layout, and the rest of the scene was quickly established. Washes were also kept simple, with the first wash establishing the sky and foreground, then using a dark middle ground wash to establish both the skyline and the foreground at the same time. This allowed me to then spend most of my attention on the focus of the painting rather quickly. I was quite happy with the outcome and glad that I used my final efforts of the event to capture this scene. I was particularly pleased that the painting sold to the godparents of the ranch owners (before they even realized that the painting was of their goddaughter's ranch!)!