How to Paint Cornfields

The beginner in oil painting may find painting cornfields a satisfying subject matter, for the colour of wheat consists of large areas of colour, allowing scope for the artist to use expressive brushwork and to paint Impressionist style.

Painting Impressionist Style

Farmer’s fields offer the artist the ideal opportunity to ladle thick paint onto the painting surface in order to suggest texture, rather like the style of Van Gogh and Monet. A painting completed in such a way in one go is known as “alla prima." The following tips might help the beginner.

• • Corn contains lots of unexpected colours, from pinks to mauves. Similarly, observe how the colour of corn shifts during different lighting conditions and weather, for instance a blue sky will reflect upon the corn.

  • To emulate an impressionist feel to the painting, use a wider brush than one might expect. For example, when picking up a size 6 brush, go up to size 9 or higher.

  • When expressing deep shadows on corn of a sunny day, don’t use black to darken the colour, but wheat’s complimentary colour, which is any colour within the blue spectrum; violet, ultramarine or even green.

  • Consider the positioning of the horizon when composing a wide landscape. A high horizon emphasises the wheat field, a low horizon emphases the sky.

  • Consider the focal point to the painting such as trees or buildings, rather than a cornfield receding into an unbroken horizon.

  • Using stretched canvas, as on this demonstration, is an ideal way to emphasise the textureof thecorn.

Art Materials Required

• 1. A suitable photograph of cornfields, although painting it from life could offer the artist more challenge.

  2. Acrylic paint in permanent rose and cadmium yellow

  3. Oil paints in the following colours: titanium, cadmium yellow, lemon yellow, cadmium red, permanent rose, ultramarine, pthalo blue, burnt sienna and burnt umber

  4. A 12” x 16” (30.5 x 40.5cm) medium grain stretched canvas.

  5. A size 3 and size 6 round sable brushes

  6. A ½ inch wide bristle brush

  7. A palette consisting of a china plate or varnished wood.

  8. Small pot of artists’ white spirits

  9. A few rags

  10. Soft pencil

Tips on Painting Cornfields

In order to suggest distance, as on a misty day, mix a little purple or blue with white and introduce this colour into the cornfield colour towards the horizon.