Landscape of Virginia

    I was painting this house plein air and a man walked up behind me and began to speak: "Do you know anything about the house your painting?"   Well, I didn't.   It turns out that this house is named "the Langston home" and it was the spot where the Union Army w General T. Sherman set up his headquarters while staying in Central Virginia during the Civil War in 1863 (or so)....the Army set up its tents in the land surrounding this home in Faber, Va.   The house is still in the same family and they own most all of the land that I rendered in this painting.   There property goes way back into the mountains behind the home, and up to the west and east of it as well.   Chuck (the man who came up to chat with me as I painted) was very talkative n explained most everything anyone would care to ask about that place.  I just kept painting.  It is located just south of Irish Road or Rt 6 in Nelson County, Va.

     This house is found on a twisty road not used by many people, its one of a few in the woods.   Most abandoned homes are around it and by the looks of it this home too is without any current residents.   It can give most people the 'willies' or the' shakes' just to look at it due to its poor condition.  It was interesting to me as a serious house to study.   I did take a few liberties with the color of the wood and the condition of the windows.   I made it look in better shape than it actually is in.  

  Bringing new thoughts in my sketchbook into the sight of my eyes is often fun and a refreshing change from the tedious palette and brushwork I do everyday.    This is one of my fun sketches that I've done with the feel of our election process.

     On the back roads between Shipman and Arrington (where a nice rock festival takes place) there is a group of farm buildings that stand abandoned with grasses growing among them.    This barn is one of those buildings.   It stands atop a hill with a slope of a grassy plane which makes it a dominate scene.   Its really quite becoming and the unique style of the building creates a really nice balanced image.   So I painted it after photographing it from the side of the highway.   

 Sometimes one is asked to paint something that is meaningful to them but not so much to you.   That's when a cash incentive is included in the deal.   Such is the case with this house painting of a friends home in Arrington Va.

 This structure made of earth'n slate brick like blocks stands alone in a field near an old railroad track.   There was a time when a train ran between here in Schuyler and on down to Scottsville.   It began its run in the mountains near Afton and for all I know it might have run all the way to Richmond.   A friend said his mother use to ride the train from Esmont (near this structure) to school in Scottsville everyday.    What I don't know is just what this 'house' is or who lived in it and if it was a 'house' at all.   It remains in a field just off the road between Keene and Esmont. Many folks know of it.   Sometimes a  crew of photographers will show up and set up a model in a pose using it as a backdrop for the photo-shoot.   Eitherway, it is interesting even if no one seems to know just what its doing their in the first place.   I suppose its been through a lot different uses over the many years its been standing, for me its u...

   This building sits on a hilltop overlooking the Walton's home in Schuyler.   It is a wonderful addition to this small community and is attended to by but a few remaining members of its congregation that live nearbly.   I wanted to paint it with the thought of it being a really beautiful building that once housed many ceremonies for those minors who were devout in their faith and prayed within its walls.