Hot Hay in July

Hot Hay in July, a photo by BYarborough on Flickr.

Plein air in Leona Valley, oils on 9x12 canvas. I did not realize how much hotter it would be to set up on hot, dry, hay rather than the dirt road. The heat reflected up off of the yellow grass hay and made the 3 1/2 hours out there pretty miserable. I did thoroughly enjoy the outing, though, and the scene was SO summertime! There were some blue flowers still blooming in the meadow and the contrasts of yellow and green were very appealing.
I continue to use the Cobra water mixable oils and continue to love them. I mixed linseed oil and water (50/50) and that worked perfectly as a medium to keep my paint smooth and creamy on the palette. Clean up is still soap and water.
My plein air paintings are done with a primary palette -- UltraMarine, Azo Yellow (which is being switched to Cad Yellow), Naphthol Red Medium and Titanium White. I'm finding that mixing in the field is very doable and sure makes for a lighter load in the french easel!