Irrigating the Pecan Orchard
6x8in oil on canvas board. Not for sale.
A cold front has moved in and grey skies, cooler temperatures and showers completely took away my desire to go out to paint. I did this from sketches and memory and will keep it as a reference painting for when spring arrives.
The typical irrigation method is to completely flood the ground. The orchards look wonderful with all the reflections and light bounces, but I find they are very complex to paint. The trees line up in perfect rows so you have to be sure to capture at least the illusion of this. This particular orchard has fairly young trees.
We have a very large, pecan company here called Stahmann Farms. They are one of the largest pecan growers in the world and they are to be commended for not using chemical pesticides. They allow weeds to grow around the trees where they place thousands of ladybugs to eat the aphids.
Wonderful painting. I was not familiar with this watering technique before
ReplyDeletehearing about it in El Paso. Thank goodness for pecans!
Interesting post, Julie!! This Pecan Orchard is a beautiful piece and looks complicated...you did an amazing job with the reflections in the flooded area!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful orchard, and interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI lived in Mississippi for a long time and loved the pecans, but we didn't have to flood the fields. This sounds very different to me, and very interesting. Enjoyed your informative blog today VERY much. thanks for sharing. Carol
ReplyDeleteBeautiful foliage and the reflections of light that dazzle us
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