This weekend’s trip to Williams was to pick up two paintings I’d entered in the 2010 Gateway Expo exhibition. The theme was “Rustik Memories” so naturally I sent shed paintings.
When my wife unpacked them today, she discovered a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate on ‘Shed in Spring’! I had no idea as the exhibition had finished the day before I went and all paintings were packed ready for collection.
I love this detail section, especially the subtle simplicity of the house in the background. That warm glow on the posts, with the strong reflected light, is really what this painting is about. (My apologies for the reflections in the dark areas of these photos).
This shed has provided me with two paintings so far. For years I drove by it almost every day. It always caught my eye and I photographed it a few times from a distance, in different light, and stopped on the side of the road once and sketched it. Eventually I did a painting from one of those photos, with my sketch as additional reference. Later I went and found the owners (they don’t live in the house right behind the shed) and asked if they’d mind me jumping the fence and taking more photos. ‘Shed in Spring’ is the result, painted from one of those photos.
You can see the first painting I did of this same shed in my opening blog post. Despite the main subject being the same, these are two very different paintings.
It was lucky I acted when I did as the owners have since removed all the old fencing and painted the entire shed in Red Oxide. It just isn’t the same any more.
This is my second ‘Highly Commended’ this month. My ‘Shed in Summer Light’ received the same honour at the Mount Romance Centennial Art Prize in Albany in early April.
Highly Commended – Mount Romance Centennial Art Prize, 2010)