The Dorothy Barn for the Calendar

                                                            

                                                A "New Perspective".  

I decided to go with a different view.

The offset roofline made more sense and the front was more important than the side.

I did straighten the photo before I started.

The Community First Bank Calendar has always used pen and ink drawings so this is a "Studio" piece.

Someday it would be nice to paint a plein air version of this but it would be at risk to life and limb.

The barn is in town and is on a blind curve.

CFB Calendar 2013

The Dorothy Barn

2013 Calendar "Girl"

This is the second year that I have been asked to do the Community First Bank Calendar.  Last year the Calendar "girl" was the historic Pearson House in Keosauqua, Iowa.

This is not the view of the barn that was actually selected but I thought that I would go through the process to record it for blog posterity.

The second black and white photo with the grid is from and App on my iPad called Accuvue.  There is also an Accudraw.  I use this App to get the proportions correct as I am portraying a local landmark and want to get it right.  There isn't much artistic license going on here.  It is fun to use Accuvue because you can crop, grid, adjust values and save your ideas to look at later.

Sometimes a few days distance from your subjects helps one to make a decision.

This view is how you see the barn from the road and while it has great dramatic lighting it poses challenges due to the offset roofline.  It is also literally the broad side of the barn.

So I decided to look at it from another viewpoint.

Rose Garden Morning

This was painted in the spring in the Rose Garden in Bentonsport, Iowa.

 The composition was inspired by a Monet painting 

"The Parc Monceau".

 I found a reproduction in the book 

"Impressionist Gardens" by Clare A.P. Willsdon.

I used a very similar palette as well.

It doesn't hurt to learn from the masters.

 It is a painting that I was sorry to sell quickly.

It was in a show at the Fort Madison Area Art Association and it sold before the opening.

Downriver

This view has been given a few different lives over the last year.

This one is 24" by 36".

The first was 9 x 12.

It was sold and is living in Texas.

There is also a wee one that is 5x 7.

The view is downriver from Bentonsport, Iowa.

Gothic Pansies

I love this little bottle that I found in France a few years ago.

I do have a bit of the frame in the photo.

Whoops!

I promise better cropping next time.

Prairie Painting

Prairie painting done at my friend Jeanette's beautiful farm last summer.

The underpainting was done with a brush and then I took out the palette knife to give it a little more life.