A Sunny Afternoon, Shinnecock Hills

Bright sunlight floods this Shinnecock Hills landscape from the upper left, creating a vast pale sky dominated by crisp white clouds that occupy nearly half the composition. A winding sandy path curves through the foreground from lower center, drawing the eye into yellow-green grassy fields that stretch to a distant, thin horizon. Small clusters of dark green vegetation punctuate the middle distance and foreground, anchoring spatial depth. The composition is deliberately simple: sky above, field below, path as a pale throughline—yet the luminous atmosphere and subtle color variations across the grass create a sense of warm, clear weather.

The sky is uniformly light with soft transitions; clouds are the lightest lights, nearly white. The grassy field occupies a middle-to-warm-light value range, with subtle shifts from yellow-ochre in warmer patches to dusty yellow-green elsewhere. The pale sandy path is one of the brightest elements, rivaling cloud highlights. The darkest darks are concentrated in small vegetation clumps on the horizon and scattered foreground brush—these dark accents are sparse but crucial for spatial illusion. When squinted, the landscape reads as a gentle slope upward, with the path creating a tonal highway.

• #d1e7ee

  ultramarine blue + titanium white + touch of yellow ochre

  sky, especially in mid-sky and shadow areas of clouds

• #c8d3d6

  ultramarine blue + titanium white + burnt umber

  softer sky tones, cloud shadows, atmospheric haze

• #ebeeed

  titanium white + touch of yellow ochre

  brightest clouds, highlights on sand path, luminous highlights

• #c8aa59

  yellow ochre + burnt umber + touch of ultramarine

  warm golden grass, especially mid-field and right side

• #a7ab9d

  yellow ochre + ultramarine blue + titanium white

  cooler yellow-green grass, middle-tone field areas

• #6d592e

  burnt umber + ultramarine blue + touch of yellow ochre

  dark vegetation on horizon, foreground shrub shadows, darkest accents

Chase's brushwork is deliberately visible and energetic throughout. The sky is rendered with horizontal strokes of varied pressure; clouds have soft, feathered edges created by dragging warm yellows and ochres into cool blues. Grass is painted with directional strokes that suggest terrain and follow the contours of the rolling landscape—some horizontal, some diagonal. The path is suggested with loose, broken strokes rather than outlined; its light value and soft edges are what define it. Vegetation is indicated with quick, dark jabs of the brush, not detailed foliage. No forms are heavily outlined; all edges play a supporting role to atmosphere.

1. 01

   Establish the sky structure

   Begin with a wash of light blue (ultramarine + white) across the entire upper half. Work quickly and loosely. While wet, indicate cloud shapes with cream-white (white + yellow ochre touch) using horizontal strokes. Leave soft edges where clouds meet sky—avoid hard lines. The sky should feel luminous, not flat.

2. 02

   Paint the distant horizon and middle ground

   Establish the thin horizon line with a very subtle color shift—a barely-darker warm tone (yellow ochre + touch of blue) separates sky from land. Paint the warm golden grass in the mid-field with loose horizontal strokes, keeping this area bright. Leave some gaps where you'll add cool yellow-green.

3. 03

   Define the grassy field with color variation

   Mix a cooler yellow-green (yellow ochre + ultramarine + white) and lay this across the field with varied strokes, especially the right side and mid-ground. The field should show natural color shifts—warmer ochres on the left and center, cooler greens emerging on the right. Avoid uniformity; vary your stroke direction to suggest gentle terrain undulation.

4. 04

   Paint the sandy path and foreground

   Using a pale cream (white + touch of yellow ochre), paint the winding path curve from lower center through the landscape. Keep edges soft and broken—the path should feel like it disappears into the landscape rather than being outlined. Notice how it's nearly as light as the clouds; this luminosity is key. Extend this pale tone into the immediate foreground around the path.

5. 05

   Establish foreground vegetation masses

   In the foreground, add loosely suggested vegetation with dark brown (burnt umber + ultramarine). These are quick, varied strokes suggesting shrub clusters—not detailed foliage. Keep them relatively small in scale; they anchor the composition but shouldn't dominate. Leave negative space between them to show ground.

6. 06

   Place distant vegetation accents

   Add small, concentrated clusters of dark green and brown vegetation along the horizon line and scattered middle distance. These tiny accents create the illusion of distance and scale. Use a small round brush with quick, deliberate marks. Resist making them larger or more detailed—understatement sells the distance.

7. 07

   Refine grass color transitions and add final texture

   Step back and assess color flow across the field. Add strokes of cooler green in shadow areas and warmer ochre in sunlit patches. The goal is subtle variation that suggests terrain and light, not obvious patchiness. Add a few textural strokes of mixed-value greens and browns in the middle distance to suggest low vegetation and natural breaks in the field.

8. 08

   Integrate and soften passages

   Return to the sky-to-landscape transition and soften it further by dry-brushing soft cloud shadows onto the upper field edge. Blend any harsh transitions between grass color zones. Check that your sky still feels luminous, your path reads clearly, and distant vegetation anchors the spatial illusion. The painting should feel cohesive and sunny throughout.

• Making the sky too saturated or too dark—it must remain pale and luminous to read as bright sunlight. Test your sky mixture on a scrap before committing.
• Over-detailing the distant vegetation or making it too large; these should be quick, small marks that suggest rather than describe. Restraint here is what creates distance.
• Losing the path's soft edges by outlining it or making it too uniform in value. The path must feel woven into the landscape, not drawn over it.
• Creating a uniform yellow-green grass field instead of subtle ochre-to-cool-green variation. Mix multiple batches and vary your strokes directionally to suggest terrain and light shifts.
• Overworking edges throughout—impressionistic technique thrives on loose, visible brushwork. Resist smoothing and blending; let strokes remain somewhat distinct and energetic.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility