Life is short. Invest in what makes your heart happy. – Amanda
Last fall, my clients approached me with an idea. It went something like this:
"Hey, we know we'd like you to paint something for us but we're a little undecided yet. We'd like to recreate the family farm that I grew up on in a painting, but the barn and original homestead building are no longer in existence. The house that is still there has also been modified over the years. But, we have an aerial view and we could drive out there and look. What do you think?"
........Long Pause.......Sure, it's worth a look!
So we drove out to the original farmstead, which is now becoming surrounded by Lueck lake - enough so that one of the outbuildings (metal shed) had fallen completely into the water! We drove all around the farm site, looked at it from every angle. Then, we drove to the east side of the farm looking west just as the sun was setting and it was magical. It was then that I knew it could be done!
From there began a process of recreating the original memory. I searched Google historical aerial views and began plotting them into 3D modeling software to get the perspective right. Then, I started modeling the outbuildings. The barn was tricky as I was mostly guessing on a lot of the heights/window sizes (but I am an Architect after all!).
Through a lot of careful collaboration with Kristi and Jared, we started to get the details right. And then...it was time to paint! You can see the painting process in the video - which is mostly just a lot of layers and patience. With anything, patience is key.
This commission was so meaningful to me because it stemmed from so many memories that I got the privilege to recreate in a single snapshot. I can almost hear Kristi and her sister laughing as they hung clothes out to dry.
I truly believe we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. With so many old barns disappearing to make way for prefabricated metal buildings, it always makes my heart happy to recreate what once was.
Thanks for reading, friends. Don't forget to spend some time today investing in what makes your heart happy.
