8940 Red Barn
Jerry Yarnell – Inspiration of Painting PBS Television Series

This peaceful rural scene features a weathered red barn nestled against a backdrop of soft green foliage, with warm earth tones stretching across the foreground and a simple fence line guiding the eye through the composition. In this beginner level acrylic painting lesson, Jerry walks you step-by-step through creating this charming countryside setting in an 87 minute session on an 18x24 canvas, making it approachable while still delivering a beautifully finished result.

You’ll learn how to construct and paint barn structures with accurate perspective, including roof angles, siding lines, and supporting elements like attached sheds and fencing. Jerry demonstrates controlled brushwork techniques for achieving the aged, rustic texture of wood surfaces, along with subtle color variations that give the barn its sun-faded, timeworn appearance.

The lesson also focuses on building soft, natural backgrounds using layered foliage techniques that create depth without overwhelming the subject. You’ll explore how to suggest distant trees with loose blending, control edges to keep the barn as the focal point, and use gentle value shifts to create atmosphere and separation between foreground, middle ground, and background.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a strong understanding of how to paint rustic buildings, create convincing outdoor environments, and balance detail with softness for a cohesive composition. This is an excellent project for beginners looking to gain confidence in structure, texture, and landscape painting while completing a timeless rural scene.