Little Inspirations

I've been wanting for a while now to work together with the City Archives to find historical subjects to paint.  This is a reciprocal venture that I think will appeal to artists and history lovers alike.

The idea came to me when I was out on a walk on a beautiful day last year.  There are so many beautiful old homes near the studio - they all have a story!  Who lived there?  Was it renovated respectfully?  Is it in desperate need of renovation but still beautiful?

While I work on setting up a formal workshop where Archives and I can pay homage to some of the city's most beautiful old homes, I'll share a quick trial run we tried out in a recent class:

I snapped this picture when I was out for a walk last spring.  This house near the river yearned to be painted...

One interpretation.  We all spent less than an hour on these quick renderings.

...and another.  They turned out exquisitely...effortless and light...ready to be framed and hung!

I do love a quick little sketch in the afternoon.  They always seem to turn out best - unaffected and truthful.  I'm looking forward to leading a watercolour class in the springtime to work on more of these little 'house renderings'!