Hard Country

Size: 9x12

Type: Oil on linen panel

The title ‘Hard Country’ seems appropriate enough, although I was standing at the edge of a paved road when I started this painting outdoors (and finished in the studio).  It’s north of my home by a short distance, and was the early light of the day, painted around 8:30 on a February morning, when the shadows are still long.  It’s still chilly on mornings like this, but the brittlebush are full of buds and some of them will start opening into yellow blooms by the first of next week.  After the rainfall pattern we’ve had this winter, spring flowers are going to be a terrific display.