Wayah Waters Guest Cabin

Last year, a friend of ours told us about a great little cabin outside of Franklin, North Carolina.  Chuck and I went and stayed there for his birthday, and I have been there twice by myself while Chuck was on business trips.  Over spring break, my sister and I went and stayed for almost a week.  It was great!  The cabin is right beside a rushing creek!  I took a photograph of the front and have spent the last couple of mornings working on this painting.  Hope it will give you an idea of what a neat little place it is. 

Kirk

I painted this about a year and a half ago.  I had seen a photo in a local state magazine of a young man serving coffee.  I loved his vest, the cup and saucer, and the dishes behind him.  So, off I went!  UNTIL I got to the face.  In the photo, the man was nerdy looking with glasses and a cone shaped hat.  I decided to substitute my son Kirk's face.  The photo I used for the painting was his senior picture.  You can see from the inset that he has changed quite a bit in eight years.  (It was also one of my first portrait attempts, and I made his face a little too dark.) When I finished the painting, I gave it to him.  Now, he has it out each time I visit him in Raleigh.  (Not sure if he gets it out only for my visits - ha! ha!)  He is, and always has been, one of my biggest supporters with my art.

Roughing it up!

I had a great time with this painting!  In one of the workshops I attended, I learned how to prepare canvases with different types of textures.   This painting was done on a very roughly textured canvas which was developed with a base of gesso and then a sprinkling of a sandy substance used by ceramic artists.  I loved this exercise because it gave me a chance to experiment with, not only the rough texture, but also with a soft wash and blending of the background.  I also had the opportunity to work on facial features and hands and to practice value and shading.