Antonito Farm

Antonito Farm
9 × 12 inch oil on panel color study

On a recent trip through southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, I stopped along the road outside Antonito and took a photo of this small farm set against the mountains. The light was still low, and the hillsides carried those cool blue-green tones that show up when the morning sun hits them at an angle. In the foreground sat a weathered shed, a few hay bales, and the dry grass of the field.

When I got home I painted it as a color study. I wanted to keep the sense of space—the way the mountains sit back and the buildings and hay feel close—without overworking a small panel. The cool color in the hills and the warmer, drier notes in the foreground did most of the work of creating depth.

Antonito Farm is a straightforward record of a place I drove past and decided was worth painting.