"Calm Before the Storm" by Beth Bathe

"Calm Before the Storm", 6 x 8, oil on panel

In October when I had the pleasure of hosting fellow artist Qiang Huang here in Lancaster PA, we ventured out one morning to do a plein air painting in the Amish countryside. You may visit his webpage to see his sketch of this scene at
qiang-huang, a daily painter: "Sketch in Lancaster"

The weather quickly turned blustery and cold as a cold front moved in. I was able to get this painting started but finished it in my studio. I had a devil of a time painting the cows, maybe because the entire painting is only 6" x 8" so the cows become just dots on the canvas. I think they "suggest" cows, what do you think?

Here is a photo that Qiang took while I was painting...it was cold!!! I think the temperature dropped from the fifties to low thirties while we were there.