This is a scene in southern France in early spring when the grass in the pastures has turned green but the trees are still winter-bare. I liked the collection of hilltop farm buildings. In painting this I was thinking of a composition of mostly neutral colors, with some areas of green and a few accents of complementary red. Showing the distant trees on the horizon as bare trees, without painting every branch, was an interesting challenge.

The painting is 20" tall and 16" wide. I painted it on Saturday while listening to the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Lucia di Lammermoor. It was a breathtakingly good performance and I am naming the painting "Lucia's Farm" in its honor.