Grandfathered In

Grandfathered In, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

I have been extremely busy making frames and varnishing paintings for the up-n-coming art fair. And, in the middle of that came Spring Break. I was able to go to Washington DC for 4 days, during which I visited the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Nation Gallery of Art, both of which were extremely enriching and inspiring. I regained my love and appreciation for Dutch Masters, especially Frans Hals, who's paintings and subject matter always seemed to have a twinkle in their eye.

"Grandfathered In" was painted just before my trip, during which we were having constant flooding rains in Louisville. I needed a bit of sunshine and sprawling landscape. The setting is from Louisville's newest park, which was the result of land donations along a long, wide and meandering creek. The barns were there prior to the establishment of the park and are on one of the few private properties that still exist.  They're like big blocks of color on an otherwise flat and treeless part of the landscape.