Here are two shots of the house: (Click on photo to enlarge)
And here is the painting in progress. (Laughing is permitted and maybe even encouraged!)
The yellow is the undertone I painted the entire canvas with to start. I will be painting the hillside, grass, driveway, etc., right over the yellow. The house had a one story addition added on to it, and you can see where I was going to make it taller - I will paint out that white line that shouldn't be there. I also painted the house a darker color than it actually is, but the color was darker than the photos indicate
My landlady told me her father built this house when he married her mother. I just loved living there, and the house had good feelings and good spirits in it.
I can only do a bit of this at a time as it seems to sap my energy!
I got my hair trimmed today, and it is a long way over there in traffic. There was a lot of construction on Fair Oaks Blvd, so I decided to take Folsom Blvd back - maybe a little longer but very little traffic at that time of day. Of course there were lanes closed on Folsom for construction as well. I try to remind myself that construction means people working; earning wages; paying taxes; supporting their families; supporting local businesses, and so on down the line. I can be pretty pragmatic about construction tie-ups because I usually have all the time in the world, and I ALWAYS leave early for an appointment of any sort so I won't be late due to things like construction.
Tomorrow is Jeannie's birthday, and even our hairdresser was wondering what kind of cake Donald is going to make for her. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it.
The beautiful sunlight is shining in the front door, but it shows the dust and dirt on the floor. I'd better go clean it up while I can still see it - once the sun is down the dirt won't show and it will sit there for another day!
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What a lovely house! It must have been hard to leave it. My mother's family came over here from County Down, Northern Ireland before the Revolutionary War. She always told me we were Scots/Irish. I've always been interested in Ireland and love the houses. I'm looking forward to seeing your finished painting.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the house. I was never in Northern Ireland, but did make it up to a few of the counties such as Sligo and Donegal. I lived way down in County Cork, right on the Atlantic ocean.
DeleteI think some ancestors on my mother's side were considered Scots/Irish.
Your doing a great job on the house. I'm sure it will look wonderful and keep bringing you many happy memories every time you look at it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo. I think I am painting it pretty much as it looked, and hope I can get the surrounding area as it was.
DeleteThe most fun is painting memories and that is what you are doing. Of course, the photo helps, too. . .
ReplyDeleteThis house brings a lot of great memories back to me. I loved living there.
DeleteI think you have a great start. If I'd been able to live in that house, I'm not sure I would ever have come back. How did you come to be there for a few years? I know what you mean by only the sunlight shows up the dirt. Can't wait to see Jeannie's cake. Happy birthday to her!!
ReplyDeleteI had planned to stay for a while, get dual citizenship, and come and go as I pleased. The first year my ex found he had cancer, and I came back for a couple of months to help him out. It was a lot of fun being around my 3 adult kids and their then-girlfriends/boyfriend. I cooked up a storm and they were always ready for a meal. I returned to Ireland but always seemed to have a reason to fly back for a visit. After 9/11 my oldest son & his fiance got married before his deployment, and when I came back for that I decided to pack up my belongings and return to the U.S. for good. I bought a house in NC and loved it there for 5 yrs, but I ended up needing to be closer to family. I've been to a lot of beautiful places in my life and enjoyed every minute of traveling, but when it comes down to it I want to be with family. Not having a husband or partner makes being alone an unattractive option, no matter how beautiful the place is or how friendly the people. Family matters most to me in my life, and watching my grandchildren grow.
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