Here's the back story: Alan & Valerie bought a perfect lakefront lot a few blocks away that came with a tiny 1960's brick ranch style house. Very retro, very funky; more fish-camp than home, but with so much history of family summers on the lake; croquet on the lawn, boating and fishing and everything that goes with it. They salvaged many treasures, like wood paneling that had been previously salvaged from a historic downtown building when the house was built in the first place, an adorable little chandelier, a pair of old metal lawn chairs, now refurbished with glossy red paint. But the house had to go. No matter how clever the remodel, it would still be a low-ceilinged, musty, funky old house. So to preserve all that it represented, they commissioned me (astounding confidence in my abilities) to paint a "portrait" of the old place.
My challenge was getting the perspective right so that it looked like itself and to capture the nostalgia of those days gone by. I wanted to apply the lessons I learned last Spring and Fall at the plein air workshops…keep things loose and simple, keep values close, keep edges soft. Tell a story, have a focal point.
Here are my reference photos of the house. I know, I know. I should have set up my easel and painted from life, but A. I'm new at this, aright?! B. It was frightfully hot when I took these pictures (and I tend to have a narrow range of Comfortable unless I'm near a swimming pool and C. The house was bulldozed a few days later.