Color in the Shadows

This old red barn at MacNair's Country Acres in Raleigh caught my eye because of the strong shadow cast by the large, peaked, over-hanging roof in the late morning sun.  The richness of colors in the shadowed barn were totally lost in the photograph, but that's one of the beauties of being "on location"...the eye sees so much more than the camera lens!

 

 Since I wanted to make the barn feel welcoming, I mixed colors much warmer than I saw them.  The barn became more orange, the grass more yellow (and abundant!), the road more brown.  I also moved the road -- you can do that as an artist :) -- and dappled the light to lead the eye to the barn.

 Morning at the Red Barn, 8x10 Oil

This piece is currently on exhibit at our "Equestrian" themed show at Waverly Artists Group.  For a fun evening, come to our Open House on Friday January 25, 6-9pm. You can't beat music, art, food, wine, and friends!