I love barns, all kinds of barns. I cannot turn away from a lonely, abandoned, dilapidated barn sitting forlornly in the middle of an expansive field (the tobacco barns in KY). I am fascinated by the rambling, cattywonkus architecture of an old dairy barn, revealing not only its own history, but the history of the farm and the farmer. I can only imagine the hopes and the dreams that were invested in those structures. I respond to these structures like I do to all of the architecture that I have tried to portray in my art, from the corner stores and markets to the elegant historic structures and landmarks; I project my own dreams and imagination of their history, the stories they hold, onto them.
Barn on Black pastel 20x30
In this painting the focus is entirely on the architectures clean lines and texture. The sky and foreground functions only as a stage for the barn.
Abandoned Barn pastel 20x30
Here I am focused entirely on the barns “story”, obviously abandoned and uncared for, and the setting is part of the story.
Western barn pastel 12x16
I could not resist this...from a photo on a trip out west. I can't remember where - I took so many photos
2 comments:
The second one reminds me of growing up in Western PA. The first time my fiance, Tom, was in a barn while visiting PA I made him climb up to the loft and he asked, "are you sure this is safe up here?" I told him that barn had been there for a long time and will be there for a lot longer. City kids ;) I am glad I finally subscribed to your blog.
I love barns, too, but always manage to make them look trite. Yours are wonderful and strong. The lighting on the first one reminds me of early morning light or evening "sweet light" when everything is beautiful. I love the brilliant colors on the second one -- I had to bring it up to full size to even realize that it was pastel! And the last one is so very western, but in an abstract setting -- wow. :-)
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