"Meadow Walk" is an original oil painting of a scene I was privileged to have access to, just south of the town of Floyd. A walk through the meadows of this small valley brings you to a cleverly constructed suspension bridge. The bridge hovers over the fast moving waters of a stream filled with some of the cleanest water you will ever see. Inspiration here knows no bounds. As you listen to the water rushing beneath you, the suspended bridge gently lifts you up and down until the energy in the cables dissipates. A special place indeed.
"Relaxing on the Porch Swing" - SOLD - limited prints available
"Relaxing on the Porch Swing" is an original watercolor of an old home found in Bedford, Va. This is the second watercolor using this home as the subject. This original painting is scheduled to be auctioned at the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing's live and silent auction on January 28th in Richmond, Va. You can visit the website at http://www.bsmcon.edu/ Proceeds will go to the nursing student's "Call To Serve" mission trip. See this link for details - http://www.bsmcon.edu/about-us-student-mission-trip.html
.
"Pete's Uncle's Place"
"Pete's Uncle's Place" is the first original watercolor of this old two story Bedford Virginia home. The original is displayed and is for sale at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts in Floyd, Va. This fall scene attempts to capture the colors reflected in the change of seasons. Visit the Jacksonville Center for the Arts at http://jacksonvillecenter.org/
.
"The Morris Vest Barn" - SOLD, limited prints available
The Morris Vest Barn is located on Booth Creek Road just about a half mile from state route 221 in Floyd County, Va. The barn is part of the old home place of Morris Vest, an early resident of Floyd County. Located just across the road from this barn is the original Morris Vest home. Standing proudly beside the road for many years, this barn still serves the current owner and descendant of Morris, Mr. James Vest.
This painting is a 16" x 19" watercolor.
.
"First Light" - The inspiration for this stained glass work has to be attributed to the snows of 2009-2010. From December 18th of 2009 through the first week of March, we had snow on the ground. The first 10 inches of snow came and went, then 14" more that never melted and then another 3 or 4 inches or so inches fell on top of that. The horses stayed in the barn for weeks, unable to walk, or to be led to the pasture. There was nothing to nibble on even if we could safely get them there. My wife Lenny took the original picture and I used the photo to create this glass work. Currently (Mar. 30th, 2010) this work is being displayed and for sale at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts in Floyd, Va.
"First Light"
"Early Spring Again"
"Early Spring Again" Framed
"Early Spring Again" is an original pen, ink and water color drawing of an old log barn found in Floyd County, Va. The small images on the mat surrounding the work are actual pictures of the Conner Road Barn taken as the barn was being dismantled. The frame is handmade by the artist from the 100 year old wormy American Chestnut wood recovered from the Conner Barn. This drawing is on display and can be purchased at Bell Gallery and Garden in Floyd, Va.
George Shelor's Cabin
George Shelor's Cabin -
I met George Shelor at the Floyd Country Store during a Saturday drawing session. George invited me to take a tour of his property and take photos of a couple of old buildings that were on the property. After climbing a fence or two, crossing a stream and hiking up a hill, there sat this old log home right at the top of the hill under a battered old apple tree. George had watched over the old structure by fixing the roof when the wind blew it off and propping up the logs when the could no longer support the corners. I drew the old homestead and called it "George Shelor's Cabin". I gave the original to George for his generosity in sharing the buildings of his farm with me.
Skidder and Wedge - SOLD
" Skidder and Wedge"
"Skidder and Wedge" is a mixed media piece inspired by photos I took at the 2007 Horse Pull competition at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts. I learned from my farrier, who knows many of the horses in the county, that the names of these two logging horses are "Skidder" and "Wedge"... which I thought would be a great name for the piece.
The horses in the piece are made of various colors of stained glass, attached to a 1/4" birch board. The background and frame are made of extinct American Chestnut salvaged from the Raven Road Barn (see Barn Recycling tab).
The dimensions of "Skidder and Wedge" are 28" wide and 18" tall.
"Chestnut Sky", April 2008, Stained Glass Streetscape and Wormy Chestnut Sky.
"Chestnut Sky" is a mixed media stained glass work of a streetscape of downtown Floyd, Virginia. The scene encompasses the Blue Ridge Restaurant on the far left and Farmer's Supply Hardware on the right. The sky and frame are made of Wormy American Chestnut that I gathered from a 130 year old log barn in Floyd County (see the barn recycling tab).
This work has been sold.
"Moonshine Memories" - SOLD
I found this old log barn near Stage Coach Road in Floyd County, Virginia. Still standing after enduring many years of wind, rain and snow along the Blue Ridge Parkway, I used this barn as the focal point of a scene that will be used in the Dawsonville Mountain Moonshine Festival in Dawsonville, Georgia. The original drawing has been shipped to Dawsonville to Bill Eggert of Mason Dixon Screen Printing & Embroidery. Bill has plans to make it the image used on shirts for the Festival.
The old barn is reminiscent of the days when moonshine whisky was transported through the North Georgia mountains during the days of prohibition. Tucked in the right side of the barn is a 1940 Ford Coupe, one of the cars of choice used for running moonshine. On the other side of the barn are the remnants of an old moonshine still. These relics represent two of the icons of the prohibition days.
This solid old barn was built by the Boones not long after the Civil War. Fred First and his wife live in the renovated two story house, a home that after more than a hundred years in place, "still holds good ghosts." Fred says of this remote and peaceful spot, "how could I not write about it?" His Floyd County memoir, Slow Road Home, is available widely in the town of Floyd and all along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Fred now ownes this original pen and ink. Prints are available and can be purchased at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts in Floyd, Va.
