Outdoor Gouache: Tractor Time Lapse

1 hour gouache plein air sketch in 10 minutes.
Limited palette: ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, cadnium yellow, cadnium yellow light, titanium white.
Initially I start to paint the tractor. Within a few strokes I pivot, deciding to block in masses, grouping everything that is not sky. The change in approach came from squinting, and realizing how grouped in value the tractor and its surroundings were. From there local color and subtle shifts in temperature and value help to differentiate materials and tell the story. Hopefully everything feels like it sits in the same world, bathed in the same diffused cool light. Forest fire smoke provided thick atmosphere, emphasizing depth right next to the focal point, which is what initially caught my eye and got me excited to paint this.