The mid to late summer fields often make me think of an old patchwork quilt, when the wheat and oats ripen to a golden color among the green of the corn and soybeans, here in the Midwestern Heartland. The purple of the sky makes me think of the old quilt top that my great grandmother had made and I found in my grandfathers trunk years ago, while the white barn of my other grandfathers farm.
I painted this scene of an overcast day in the country, when the crop rows in the fields are starting to fill in, and the air is heavy before a summer rain shower. The field rows lead back to an iconic red barn.
The idea for this painting comes from old rural schoolhouses that once dotted the backroads of America. One can still find a few of them, at country road intersections, and often turned into small country homes. I painted this old school house in a quiet field of poppies. The painting continues around the edges of the gallery-wrapped canvas. It is wired and ready to hang.
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This is a farm portrait that I was commissioned to paint recently of an old farmstead in Iowa. This lovely old farm had a big white traditional farmhouse and an iconic old red barn. My client wanted a simple scene with one large central tree for the painting.
The inspiration for this piece comes from the big, wide open sky that I love so about the country. I decided on painting the big dipper above this simple farm scene under a sky full of tiny stars.
I have been too busy to post here for while now. Right now I am working on a commissioned painting of a custom farm portrait for a client. This will be a present for their husband so is under wraps for now! I will plan to post it here on my blog in the future, with my clients ok after it has been delivered. Here is an example of a previous farm portrait that I painted in the past.
This portrait was painted for a couple in Sweden of their farm and three pet cats in the scene also. A fun painting to work on!
On a Peaceful Summers Day
My most recent farm painting. I started this painting back in the winter but then set it aside as I was not sure what direction I wanted to go with it. I looked at it one day in July and realized then what I wanted for it! I sometimes do this with a painting and am always happy when the full idea finally comes to me.
This painting was sold recently to a collector in the southern US. I went with a more close up portrait style for this painting of a Greek Revival style house. I experimented with some new brush techniques in this piece for the lawn and trees, that I have continued to use since. This piece was done in acrylic paint on stretched canvas.
Recently sold to a collector in TX.
I came across these horses in a quiet, secluded pasture several years ago. I painted them into a scene from my imagination earlier this year. One of my paintings from the quiet and peaceful American heartland.
I love the "patchwork" feel that the fields of the American Heartland seem to take on it mid summer here in the Midwest. This painting is my impression of these fields with an iconic red barn setting in the midst of them. This piece has already been sold into a private collection.
To my Little Country House
This original painting by myself Sharon France and is a bit of an imaginary self portrait. I have loved the country since I was a kid, visiting my grandparents remote Midwestern farm. This little girl came from my imagination about a decade ago and finds her way into my paintings every so often. In this scene she is headed towards a little white cottage in a quiet meadow scene.
Thank you to Ugallery for featuring my farm paintings in their curated collection "American Road Trip"
A COUNTRY MILE
Serene in the expanses of the American Heartland, Sharon France paints captivatingly simple and bucolic landscapes that express the idealism of farm life. Through clear tripartite compositional divisions – background, mid-ground, and foreground – she creates a harmony throughout her canvas.
“I love to travel through the back roads of the American heartland during the summer. The young rows of corn and soybeans look like long ribbons of green with the dark brown Midwestern soil between them. By midsummer, fields of oats and wheat ripen to a beautiful, light golden-brown color. The combination of the corn, soybean fields and pastures, make me think of lovely old patchwork quilts. I find endless inspiration for my paintings on the back roads of the American Heartland.” –Sharon
My inspiration for this painting came from the draft horses that I found in a rural pasture a couple of years ago. I painted them into aquiet country scene from my imagination. I miss seeing the old fenced fields and pastures that were common when I was growing up and often add them to my country paintings.
This piece measures 18" x 14" x .75 and is done in acrylic on stretched canvas. The sides of this gallery wrap canvas are painted to match and it is wired to hang, so that no framing is necessary.
