Landscape of Virginia

"Crumbling Barn" was taken from the photos I took along Rio Rd just off of the J Warner Parkway. This Charlottesville location seems like its in the deep country but in reality its just over the city line of Charlottesville/Albemarle County. I enjoyed the quality of these broken buildings and I am sure to be doing more as time allows.

Some paintings that I have begun making are themes from the country around this area. I found a group of buildings with 'old country barns' as the content. One would think by looking at them that they were way out in 'nowhere land' in Middle Virginia but they aren't: this painting is of a barn located at Rio Road and the John Warner Parkway. They are just outside of Charlottesville city line. They are on a hillside just over the berm at that intersection. I selected one to see how it would work for me and I believe I will add on some more effort to including more from the photo shoot I did last week. The photo shoot was a time where I parked my car and walked across a grassy field up to them and began photographing. There were three main buildings and a truck, with some farm plowing equipment beside them. I took some photos and now I am working from home using my laptop while I paint behind an easel. I like the result and will try doing some more late...

I have some happiness to report: I've photographed a few of my favorite barns that were a stuck in my memory from driving in Charlottesville since I got their in 1977. These were on the side of Rio Road just on the edge of town (in the 1970's that is cuz what is the edge of town is no more) I saw them riding around in a Region Ten van as we went out to visit Fashion Square to walk around with no money to spend. They were really some of the nicest buildings with much character and no one seemed to notice them, but I did. And after living out in the country for a while I've learned how rare and nice the really are to see as barn styles go. So I finally got it together to do a photo shoot of them. I timidly walked up to them on some field of long grass a picked spots that showed the details in the way they were built. The wood is falling off and holes are showing up in their walls so I don't think they will be standing much longer. I snapped and composed an...

The students needed a Guadalajara nearby them. All the other restaurants of that version are across town or out of reach to those who would most benefit from them. The student aren't made of money or time as some tend to think. A quick affordable decent quality meal is what this local version of the Mexican styled restaurant gives to the American eatery scene in this little college town (that is growing quickly) in its selection of places to go. This one opened up a few years ago and it seems to be going well. It was an object of interest to me due to its coloring of its outside walls and its sign up over its doorway. I liked the loud but nicely painted visual impact on someone driving by it for the first time. It catches the eye in a good way. So I've painted it.

A place of noteworthiness is the "Old Virginia Chicken" and right nearby is the "Wayside Deli" both good eateries located near the U.Va. grounds. I have nothing but good things to say about both restaurants. Here is an oil done about them, I used my laptop and D40 Nikon to do this oil. It came quickly and I think effectively to produce at home.

The store here is a very popular one in the city. I love their plain bagel w butter (I'm a butter fiend) This painting is redone. I feel the same way as Edward Munch did about his landscapes, they can be redone as many times as one wishes to paint that view. The knowledge of that visual scene is only known better with each redone canvas one does of it. But the catch is one can overdo it and it will show. I like this one it has some good colors and some good crazy wobble in it as one can easily see. Many people look for an exact reproduction today, but I don't care. I don't mind my mistakes so much no a days. These kind of lend an authentic Trippelesk feel to em.

A small town nearby is Scottsville, it was the main avenue to Richmond via longboat in the days of Jefferson. The place is struggling to survive now a days with a advent of superhighways and fast moving cars. People drive right through the place and cars seldom stop into the businesses located in that small town. Its only twenty miles south of Charlottesville on Rt 20. The town possesses a literary coffee shop, an Italian restaurant and other businesses of interest to a visitor from the outter reaches of the Universe. I liked this little image I put into paint of the hodgepodge of small stores located near the city hall (the last building on the right hand side). Its really a charming town.