A number of years ago Alison and I went around sketching and painting at various scenes--sometimes we were successful with a drawing or two, sometimes we just scouted out locations to try to visit at a later time. One that we both fell in love with was this old mill on Sandy Flats Rd. I've made several sketches of it, and a couple of paintings (one in the fog, and the one you see here). Old buildings like this can be tricky to paint, because if the components are not working together to create an interesting image that invites the viewer to spend some time investigating, it becomes just another boring barn/mill painting. The eye must keep moving through the painting, with resting points here and there. This has all the elements of a good ol' summer day: a dusty gravel road shaded by a nearby tree, hot and hazy air with the sun beating down, a cool lazy stream bubbling by, lush green grass to rest your tired feet in, and an old building rich with character and history. Good memories.
Really, really like this one. Sandy Flats...is that on the corner of Shooting Creek?
ReplyDeleteYep, that's the one. There's also another painting I did on Sandy Flats that I would like to revisit, because I went back there a few weeks ago and it looks completely different now (we were in a drought when I painted it, and now it's completely grown over).
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