Strawberry Fields

It was a glorious fall day when G and I set off along the road to Ojai and no sooner had we turned inland away from the ocean than we came upon this delightful scene. A hive of industry with fruit pickers swarming everywhere, the symmetrical rows of strawberry plants were mesmerising in the sunshine, the little farm cart sat so perfectly in the centre, and I knew I just had to paint it. So I hopped out of the car and began sketching but when I glanced up from the canvas a few moments later, all the pickers had downed tools and were streaming out of the scene towards the road! Undeterred, I carried on sketching the mountains, but when I looked up again a few minutes later there was the farm cart following the pickers out of the scene! Luckily I had already taken a few photos of the cart in situ so I just carried on sketching and finished it off from the photos at home. So be sure to take photos of your subject before it has the chance to flee the scene! Happy painting everyone!