This was the site from my neighbor's yard this past spring, and it was a pure delight to behold. I enjoyed the mild weather and the beauty around us this time.
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What Has Worked;

Hut for a Blue Tractor and a Red Grass-Cutter

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     Many of these farm structures that I live around out here in Central Virginia near Lovingston are made from wood that has been recycled from earlier farm buildings.   I am almost certain that a lot if it may just go back to the early days of European settlers locating here in Schuyler.   One can just take a quick look and even without carbon-dating one can see that the wood is old and weathered by the elements.   It is very heavy older hardwood that these folks used in making their farm structures.   One can also see how the buildings were shaped for the needs of the farm at a time and then torn down but not discarded but reused again for another purpose..   The sizes of the buildings are small.   They may house one farm implement or two but they are not like those northern Atlantic barns that have lofts and large areas for animals, these buildings are built to suite a single purpose and generally aren'...
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Remains of an Early Virginian Church

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 The old world of European faith was rife with change when new varieties of religion left the old continent for the America's open horizons.   These remains of an older mud stone Church is still here in Central Virginia near where the Lock'n Music festival takes place, only but a mile or so to the east it still stands in its muddy sandstone way.   I didn't find out much more than it was a Church at one time where people placed their wants and needs on the Altar to the keep of a Higher Power.   I don't know what faith these remains belonged to but knowing the society around here it no doubt was a early Virginian Christian Church. 
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Snow, Paint the Snow, "No"

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I can't just hop outside and paint thesedays with this weather, I enjoy it but it's been just downright cold for a good while now during the days which prevents me from going outside to paint. It's not stopping me from building some new canvases because I plan to paint indoors then later on in the coming month I'm thinking of venturing outside to an area on an old country road between Keene, and Esmont Va. to paint some old fences and wooded areas. For today though we had this snow to deal with, not much to do except to pray for the power to stay on and so far it has and I've been very grateful for that fact. Tomorrow I will finish up those two new large canvases then read some and rest, cuz soon I will be headed back to work again once they've decided that the roads are passible again. I'm hoping that won't be too long in coming because we have to make up this time we miss during the summer days when it's hot and humid. If you know any...
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The Barn on the Holland Farm

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    This building had been painted earlier, just not from this angle.   I took a top downward look in this composition in oil.    I liked the perspective of the fence running downhill and swooping around into the back of the barn.   I was thinking that I had made an error in judgement when I painted the one side of the barn in shadow, but after working moreso I saw that it seemed to work since the shade is marked with details of the wooden doors, and other details worked out in blues and dark browns.   As they say, getting some distance by letting it sit for a while without me looking at it allowed me to really see that what I had done was ok in fact it worked pretty well.       I feel that this canvas is successful, but its one that a person needs to take a good look at what one is seeing before deciding if it works as a work of art or not.   You don't want to just gloss over it with a quick ...
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Never Knowing Who Is Watching

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It's cold outdoors but not I. Being an indoor day with some snow falling outside, I pick up my pen and ink for a second time today. An older drawing calls out for some more work to be done to it. After spending and hour or more on it, I am thinking I'm done for now. But after looking at it some more I can see where it needs a little more black coloring, and I'll get to it later on. In this drawing I am looking at a fantasy of caricatures in an American city of the viewer choice. The people are in a hurried situation with a woman on the side looking on at the men who seem oblivious of her, no point intended but I do think of her as kind of a seductive woman. I just see the men much as myself, just going on with my life not completely aware of all that is around me for the sake of getting by. The main character, who is the man in the middle, is quite rushed and he is missing the attention shown to him by her. I guess it's just life and all will live on ...
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