Walton's Mountain

 Here is my version of Walton's Mountain with Earl Hamner's country home before it.   Its small painting, only ten inches square.   With the tacks holding the canvas and the popular trim framing, ten inches and....  Its an oil painting done on location on Rt 6 in Nelson County, Va.

   

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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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"KIdd's Store: #3"

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I've had troubles getting the lowdown view of this isolated country store w gas and sandwiches to go, the first two paintings were just down the tubes as far as visual interest. This one is better. I took in the outter view of cushion value of distancing around the store itself, and I think I won with a better feel to this scene. The station is buffeted by some space around it and distance too. Its a little better to view when there is some breathing room around it and not jammed into a small canvas space. I like the cars a little better in this one as well as leaving some visual detect-ability of the painting methods I used in creating this version of "Kidd's Store (#3)". Hope your entertained with its intensity and spacial relief.
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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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Observatory Hill Of U.Va.

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This hill and woods are part of the University of Virginia's Observatory Hill. It houses the planitary observatory and it also is know for it's hiking, and biking trails. I have often ridden on them and enjoy seeing it from this point of view. The biking/hiking trails run from the water tower arond to that building way to the left of the hill and of course they run up to the Observatory itself. Once one is on the trails a person can run all over this hill on a network of trails that run around/ up and down the small mountain. As you can see it is right nearby the stadium where U.Va. football has it's homefield. It was a joy to fly over it last year and snap this photo of it.
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Lost Mid-Alantic Church in Nelson County

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     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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