barn painting

this piece was close to my heart.  my brother commissioned a painting of our childhood barn.  the one i played in during my growing-up years.  my childhood on the farm was magical, and i wanted to put that magic on the canvas for him.

my big sis and i with our pup, becky, in the barn

normally i don't paint commission work and that fact showed up in communication problems, anxiety, sleepless nights, and the amount of antacids i consumed.  my husband was my rock during some freak-out moments, talking me down many times.  i just want people to be happy, and my perfectionistic ways override the joy i feel when in the middle of my work.  as long as i was in the zone i was fine.  once back into mundane land i was a wreck.  i think i will continue painting for myself, and if someone loves a painting so much they want the original instead of a print i may sell it to them.

back in the old days

i decided to condense our farm into the canvas.  many, many acres of well loved land are depicted where we would not normally see it all.  i sketched in the back pasture, the river where i used to wade and have 'boat races' with pieces of wood the family hammered together, and our little farm road that goes to the back fields.

then i started painting the underpainting and background layers.

many layers and hours later and we are at completion!

to make this artwork even more magical for my brother, i included a word from a poetry book our dad wrote way back when, called "cape cod moods".  the word i chose to include was "peace".  i clipped it from one of the copies i have stashed, and included it in the clouds.

i brought the painting up to the living room to sit with it, just to make sure it was done-done, and pixel kitty gave it two paws up;

this is such an important painting to me.  i know my brother will cherish it for a lifetime, as it holds our childhood memories and our dads view of heaven on earth.

now to paint one for myself!

until later,
jenny