I just love fall colors and though this scene is kind of sad because of the timing of Hurricane Helene, I appreciated the hope that that clearing overcast sky seemed to bring in the distance. I was painting this scene on the second day of the 2024 Abingdon Plein Air Festival at the Nicewonder Farm and Vineyard in Abingdon, VA.

Anybody that has followed my art journey for very long knows that I don’t paint fast though I do challenge myself in these plein air events. In this rendering I was inspired by the burnt orange colored tops of the blown over sorghum plants that were hit by Hurricane Helene. This was too complex a piece for me to try to paint in a day! Unfortunately, I didn't realize this soon enough. I really wish now that I had focused on the contrast of those colors instead of the “whole” rendering. Too much!

Maybe, someday I’ll learn. I’ll probably work on it more in the studio to get it to what I envisioned at the start! That’s what I typically do. 😃 It’s amazing how many were affected by the hurricane and I was told this disaster was worse than Katrina! Wow! That is saying something! Nicewonder Farm and Vineyard has an amazing couple (Dan and Heather Huard) who work their farm and do an incredible job of growing farm to table foods such as Melbar Spinach, molasses from these sorghum plants, and all the other wonderful herbs and vegetables for their farmer’s market stand on the property and their lovely tasting room and hotel restaurant.