Town House/Bed & Breakfast, Yelleville, Arkansas
My last plein air attempt occurred on my last day of the road trip. I had stayed the night with good friends from Cotter, Arkansas. We rose early the next morning, and gathered with other plein air painters to give this wonderful Victorian home a try. The building is now a popular Bed and Breakfast. I allowed myself a 90-minute window, but managed this in just about one hour. I’m pleased to be adding some speed and accuracy to my plein air attempts. I used to spend hours just trying to capture a composition such as this. The plein air practice is beginning to pay off. This one measures about 9 x 12″. I still worship the Edward Hopper watercolors of these kinds of subjects, and hope one day to capture his kind of nuances.
Tags: Americana, Arkansas, drybrush, Edward Hopper, field painting, French Impressionism, nostalgia, Our Town, plein air, Proust, Remembrance of Things Past, Sherwood Anderson, small town, watercolor, Winesburg Ohio
July 25, 2010 at 4:56 pm |
I am always impressed with your plein air efforts, but particularly when you do these Victorian homes with all their complexity. When we were in Madison, IN’s historic district I was getting overwhelmed and I figured out you are very good at editing and selecting a piece of the architecture that you particularly like. You inspired me to keep trying.
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July 25, 2010 at 5:43 pm |
Thank you, Linda. I met a very skilled watercolorist several months ago whose specialty was architecture. His greatest advice that set me free was to do only a small portion of a Victorian home. He said that an artist could never get his/her money out of an entire home, because the hours required would always price the piece out of a buyer’s interest. Furthermore, most artists cannot stay focused and interested throughout the entire project. He was certainly right with me. Too much detail, too much time, etc. I seem to do much better giving myself one-to-two hours tops on a Victorian home painting. My favorite Edward Hopper Victorian home watercolors also select only a portion of the house. I think I’ll stay with that idea awhile. Thank you for looking and commenting.
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August 6, 2010 at 8:08 am |
Hello David: Dana Johnson told me that your painting was on your blog. I am the current owner of the Red Raven Inn B&B and am thrilled to see the beautiful work you did. That tower that you captured is part of the master bedroom of my living quarters in the Red Raven. People tell me that sometimes they see one or two of my cats sitting in those very windows watching the world go by.
Thanks for painting my wonderful old home!
Cindy
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August 6, 2010 at 8:18 am |
Cindy, thank you for writing. Your home is gorgeous and I look forward to returning some day to try it again!
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April 24, 2018 at 10:18 pm |
I absolutely love your style and I love the beautifully handled shadow being cast from the turret room moulding! So fresh amazing brushwork as always!
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June 14, 2018 at 8:10 pm |
Thank you so much for that compliment. I truly enjoyed the pleasure of working on this one.
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