“I painted this scene at a plein air event in Washington, Iowa,” says John Preston. “These CAFO feeders reminded me of bombs stacked outside the facility where they were manufactured. Their reflective surface hinted at the space behind me and beyond the image. It let me riff on the very common plein air subject of Airstream trailers while commenting tongue in cheek on contemporary farming practices.
“As I painted, I had to remember to allow my eyes to adjust after looking at the subject before mixing color values on the palette. It was early in the morning and I was looking almost right into the light.”
“Fat Man and Little Boy” was awarded Best Plein Air Watercolor & Gouache in the October 2022 PleinAir Salon competition.
