plate no. 8228

Fall Plowing

Grant Wood, 1931

oil, canvasRegionalismlandscapefieldstreeshillsfarmplowautumn

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students understand how to create depth and perspective in a landscape using color and value, and how to depict repetitive patterns with accuracy.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, paying attention to the perspective and placement of the horizon line.
step 02
Block in the large areas of color for the sky, hills, and fields using thin washes.
step 03
Establish the basic shapes of the trees and haystacks, focusing on their overall forms.
step 04
Begin adding details to the fields, creating the rows of haystacks and the texture of the plowed earth.
step 05
Develop the trees by adding highlights and shadows to create volume and depth.
step 06
Paint the farm buildings in the background, keeping them simple and slightly blurred to suggest distance.
step 07
Add the plow in the foreground, paying attention to its details and the shadows it casts.
step 08
Refine the colors and values throughout the painting, adding final details and highlights.

color palette

primary · yellow ochre · burnt umber · sap green · cerulean blue

secondary · cadmium red · titanium white · raw sienna

Mix various shades of green by combining sap green with yellow ochre and burnt umber. Achieve the earth tones by blending burnt umber, raw sienna, and yellow ochre with white for highlights.

techniques

·layering
·blending
·scumbling
·linear perspective
·atmospheric perspective

common pitfalls

→Failing to establish a strong sense of perspective.
→Overworking the details and losing the overall harmony of the painting.
→Using colors that are too saturated and not reflecting the muted tones of the landscape.
→Ignoring the subtle shifts in value that create depth.