I have selected for the donation “Welsh Barn”, a 16″x20″ oil painting on canvass panel. (here)
“Welsh Barn” is based on a photograph I took in the fall of 2009 in the town of Merton in Waukesha County. The open barn door seemed to invite the picture and the light of the moment was favorable. Anyone familiar with the morning sunlight in late September Wisconsin knows that, while bright, it is softer than harsh summer light and seems to create softer shadows as well. The lower angle of the sun in the sky kisses objects (in this case a tree outside the picture) with more of a hint than when it is higher in the sky, casting weaker shadows on the barn. The sunlight reflected through the barn’s back windows seems stronger than the foreground light owing to its contrast with the dark space inside the barn.

Although this barn was abandoned, the setting got my imagination going about what its active life may have been like.

The window on the left, its dirty, neglected panes, which try so hard to reflect the days light, was actually in tact. I added the broken pane (upper left) just for the variety of it and to suggest the abandoned state of the structure.

I began this painting by toning the panel with a thin mixture of mineral spirits, Yellow Ocher, Burnt Umber and White, a hue that comes through in all but the red barn boards. Shadows across the barn face are the result of glazing, a purple tint across the door and barn stone and a Veridian Green tint across the red barn boards.

The foreground of the painting is in heavy shade cast from the large maple trees adjacent to the stone wall, as well as numerous unseen trees surrounding the red barn. Dappled sunlight in the foreground accentuates the contrast between shade and the bright mid day sunlight that lights the background of the red barn.

The Maples are just beginning to turn, so one can imagine the scene is set in late September, somewhere in the upper Midwest of the USA.

I began this composition by first toning the canvass panel with a mixture of Lemon Yellow and Yellow Ocher thinned with mineral spirits to speed drying time. I wanted the bright tones of this mixture to peek through sections of the painting, mimicking sunlight and providing a unifying color in the painting. Over the toned ground I did a light pencil under drawing of the composition. (Below)

The image of this under drawing is poorly lit and difficult to discern, however it is an important stage of the overall project. Due to the need to be precise with perspective, you will notice areas where pencil erasures were needed, which also took up sections of the ground. These white sections were minor and didn’t affect the purpose of the ground in the overall painting. The image above was created following a “roughing” in of colors on all objects except the focal point window, and prior to adding contrasting light and shade. It gives an impression of the relationship of objects, but lacking nuance of light, appears quite flat.

The above image represents an initial stage of adding light and shade. I employed glazing medium in building shaded areas of the tree trunks, wall and barn shadows. The base color of the tree trunks was a mixture of Chromium Oxide Green (warm green) and Crimson. Shade and shadow on the trees was the result of several coats of a glazing mixture of Ultramarine Blue, Veridian Green and Crimson. The base color of the stone wall was also a mix of Chromium Oxide Green and Crimson with a higher ratio of the green than the tree mixture. I then used a glaze of Crimson, damped down with a trace of Veridian Green, to cast shade on the wall. Dappled light tickling the stone of the wall was created by rubbing away glazing and paint from spots on the stone with a Q-tip, revealing the bright tone of the ground color.

The barn wall is Cadmium Red Medium with a trace of Crimson. The cast shadow of leaves is created with a glaze of Crimson and Veridian Green (preponderance of green). At this stage in the painting, I also added the white window frame and skeleton of window reflectionsAbove is the near finish. In comparing this version to the final painting above the only difference noted will be additional cast tree shadows on the barn wall. While this painting involves cool colors of green and blue, I attempted to use warm greens to give the overall composition a warm theme, in light of the use of plentiful red, orange and yellows. The reflected blue in the window also has a warm Thalo Blue base, the tone of which is slightly dampened with a trace of Cadmium Yellow Medium.

The bright flowers peeking out of the large plate glass window were strong enough to hold their own against the noon shadows, vibrant against the green of the structure. I had never thought of Ireland in terms of being so lush with flowers, but it seemed everywhere we went a wide variety of of flowers and floral compositions appointed the scenery.

The original photograph of the building front consisted of only the building and window. While I liked what I saw, I decided to add the overhanging window box of Nasturtiums, which was a typical sight on the tour. I chose the nasturtium because it is a favorite variety of mine and the orange, gold and red of the blossoms played well against the green building front.

I don’t recall what was lettered on the wall, however, because the last three letters appeared in the photograph and such wording was typical on Irish buildings, I included them. Note the cap of the wrought iron hitching post in the foreground, another unusual Irish architectural appointment. Erin Go Braugh!

My painting, “Pig’s Nose”, was done for my sister as an anniversary gift for her husband. It is based on a series of photographs I had taken in late spring of 2009, from the approximate spot of where my family vacationed when I was young. It was my good fortune to have chosen a day to photograph that grew into an incredible evening with a glorious sunset; so often the case in that magical land of Door County.

The pig’s nose lay seemingly suspended over the calm water of the bay while bowing to the sun’s retreat. The colors of this sunset seemed almost surreal, their complexity daunting against the stark light of the bluff. The contrast of the two gave me a sense of serenity. Because of its familiarity and significance to my family, this scene is perhaps my favorite painting.

The project of painting the “Pig’s Nose” lasted one and a half months. It is a 24 x 36″ oil on canvass. In order to capture the stunning colors of the sunset I first toned the canvass with a thin mixture of cadmium yellow medium and yellow ochre, a hue that peaks through the sky and water and helps unify the color of the composition. The brilliant hues along the horizon resulted from application of a glaze of cadmium red medium over the toned ground. I was experimenting with this combination initially, but once I saw the blaze of color that resulted I felt I found a way to approach and mimic the brightest sections of the sunset.

So, I feel good about the results of this painting. It is special to me and humbling to have captured an image of the fleeting moments of that day I spent alone with the pig’s nose on Little Sister Bay.

My current project is an oil on canvas that is based on my brother Tom’s photograph, “Pink and Blue.” I’ve been working on the piece for about three weeks now, and anticipate it taking at least another three weeks to complete.  The length of time it takes me to complete a painting depends on its size (in this case, 18×24) as well as the amount of detail involved. This particular painting is a Door County cloudscape that looks North across Death’s Door from the Lake Michigan shoreline. It’s very personal to me, not only because I’m working from my brother’s photograph, but because his image was taken from the beach at my sister’s property in Door County.