"Island Farm" Whidbey Island plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Island Farm" 16x20 oil on linen panel   Sold
Available through the Scott Milo Gallery 360-293-6938

 

Island Farm was my most ambitious plein air painting to date. I passed by this scene in the early morning on my way to Ala Spit during the Whidbey Island Plein Air Festival in 2021. After spending the morning at the spit I called Maury to meet me at the farm where I found a great spot off the highway to tuck in and set up.

I knew this scene would make a great painting so I pulled out my biggest 16x20 panel and got to work. I approached it the same way I do most plein air paintings starting out with a underpainting in Quinacridone Rust and working out composition and value structure after studying the scene through my viewfinder. 

I also knew if I could nail the atmospheric distance in the background I could have fun with the foreground elements so I started with the architecture of the barn and outbuildings, filling in the tree/shrub line along the water and then working from the sky down to the top of the field softening edges as I went.