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'...
This country home was sitting by the side of Arrington Road and I felt it has some history within its walls. Its a small place buy yet it had a satellite dish on it so there must have been sometime spent indoors watching the world through a TV. I worked on giving it some life by working with the texture on the wood panels that made up its walls. People survived by living within it. It is humbling.
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.
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...
This painting was conceptualized once I saw this Church or what remains of it on the side of a country road around here near my home. It's presence was impressive with its clean white clay brick towers where windows once stood. One could easily tell that its walls once held a congregation in prayer on any particular Sunday a century ago or so. Bringing it onto a canvas was a chore. It had to be painted with care and granted it was an interpretation and hopefully mistakes were forgivable for the sake of memorializing it as a home for the southern culture held within its walls. I played with the color of it and its fictional background. It was all for the sake of conveying the spiritual nature of this lost building of worship.
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