Hickory corner progression.

Finished painting

Painting outside today - was out in Hunterdon County taking reference photos for a commission piece. I passed these run down out buildings at a cross roads. There was an adjacent sign telling me that the tavern at Hickory Corners was a stop on the stage coach route along the Kings Highway. So I thought I would do a preliminary sketch for a later painting.


Subject chosen, followed by initial sketches and masking 10:31


Set up

Masked roofs with tape,
Initial washes for sky and trees
10:50 AM


Add wash for grass
Masking tape removed
windows put in while washes dry. Oops - smudged one.
10:58 AM -

Windows completed
doors and trim added with dry brush,
Begin adding weeds at base with dry brush
11:08 AM


Washes for roof added
Dry brush to indicate slate tiles
11:28
Begin adding vines on the fronts of the buildings
Add shadows under the eaves
Dry brush building sides it imitate peeling paint

11:39 AM (about 1 hour after starting)


Add washes to darken the value of the trees in back and to create defined tree shapes. Starting to balance values.

11:43AM

The light's changing quickly and I'm having a hard time catching the values I want. Its getting cloudy.

Additional vines added
Shadows darkened

11:44


More washes glazed onto the grass in the foreground, and a feeble attempt at some rusted farm machinery added for interest.

12:06 pm



There is too much foreground for the composition, I'll crop the final piece. Not a bad preliminary painting for an hour and a half stretch of time.