Just Up the Road

About a mile up the road from me is one of many barns in the area, this one a bit overgrown and neglected.    I'm not even sure if it's being used any more since there are a number of holes in the roof.  Combined with the abandonded pasture, I've found it's rustic charm quite compelling.  After passing by for the last three years, I finally got around to painting it last week.  I found a pad of canvas with minimal texture and coated it with pastel primer before starting.  It seems to work pretty well, buckling less than watercolor paper when I applied an acrylic underpainting.  The photographs I worked from where taken on a rather dull autumn day, but the painting turned out to be bright late summer day.  I think my instinctive reaction is to make the weather better than it is currently, and after nearly 2 feet of snow over the last two weeks a hot summer sky seems quite appealing.

Also, a quick update:  none of my pieces were accepted into the Rosewood Works on Paper show.  It's the third failed attempt.  I don't think I will try again as they seem to prefer much more contemporary works.  But the Randolf County show is still on.