Walker Lane: A Landscape Study

My in-laws live in rural Missouri.  Their home is located outside of a small town not too far from the Mississipi River about 1.5 h south of St. Louis.  We typically go out for Thanksgiving, but every once in a while we make it out at other times of year.  They got to name their gravel lane when 911 became available (Walker Lane, thank you), and the property is flanked by fields. The first time I visited, long ago, was the first time I'd  ever heard cows low at night, which is a scary sound for a suburban girl.  The lane is lined with old orchards, old and young trees, and lately, marching towards the family property--town.  

This landscape is based on a photo I took when we were visiting in May 2012.  It's, ah, green.  I like the idea of the composition, and the lights and darks, so I turned it into a thumbnail sketch, which you can see below.  Then, I riffed off of that to paint the landscape.  It's got 4 colors--cadmium red, prussian blue and manganese blue hue, and indian yellow.

I don't look back at the reference photo after I start to lay out the painting, it's partly based on the lane, which has been symbolic of a visit to my in-laws for as long as I can remember.

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