Still Standing

Just down the road from our farm, at the corner of Twin Oaks and Deep Run there is this farm. Left to neglect, in a state of sad disrepair it still stands - a distant memory of what was once a beloved homestead, a small working farm in upper Bucks County.

On our farm we have rescued two horses and our newest dog, Ben, is also a rescue. These animals are so wonderful and we are blessed to have them as part of our family. I feel the same passion about barns and old farms – I want to rescue them.

I am compelled to capture their story on paper. My sketchbook is filled with small studies like this one I did of the farm.

This past weekend, I finally tracked down the owners and got permission to go onto the property. I was excited about capturing the fresh snowfall that blanketed the property. The old outhouse was tilting, its door left ajar. The weathered walls of the red barn were sagging – still standing in a heroic effort of great fortitude.

Sadly the buildings will soon be torn down. In the meantime, I will cherish my time spent sketching and painting this farm, the Anton and Mary Schadl homestead, circa early 1800's. 

 "Still Standing," Plein Air Watercolor, 12" x 9"

I filled a whole sketchbook while in California.... I love looking at my sketches and reflecting on all the wonderful encounters and experiences. I have had fun sharing them in the past few blog entries...this is the last set of sketches from my California sketchbook.

My daughter's passion for horses brought us to California -- to Monty Robert's Flag is Up Farm in the town of Solvang north of Santa Barbara -- where she is working on becoming a certified trainer. You can read more about Monty's program and his wonderful work with horses and humans... seeking positive connections and success through non-violent methods and learning the language of horse. http://www.montyroberts.com
I always have my sketchbook with me and enjoy sitting in the center courtyard area and watching all the activity while waiting for Caroline to finish her day's work. The ranch is lovely with rustic barns, beautiful gardens, mature trees and, of course, amazing horses.

The atmosphere is inspiring to watch the horses and see people from all over the world come to work and learn about Monty's methods of training.

It is thrilling to see my teenage daughter find her passion and pursue her goals for a lifelong career. And it has opened up opportunities for me to be able to paint and sketch in such a beautiful spot in California's Central Coast.

Stop & Sketch

This morning I finished a painting and decided to spend the rest of the day doing small watercolor sketches/studies. I grabbed my sketchbook, mini travel palette and camera... packing light!

This was my view this morning as I finished breakfast on the patio... grabbed a quick sketch to capture the light. I love how the morning sun illuminates slopes of the canyon's hillside and the deep caverns are still immersed in shadow. As the sun comes up higher, the darkness is swallowed up with light.

I finished up my painting that I had started earlier the day before. While I was putting the last touches on the painting, some cows moved down to graze under the tree. I pulled out my sketchbook and did several quick studies of them as they were moving about and when the mother and baby cow decided to nap, I worked on a color watercolor sketch.

The next stop was to pull over to do a sketch of the hillsides, but when I got out of the car I looked across the road and saw an open gate leading up to a massive oak tree in a vineyard. The tree offered shade and I decided to go up and check out the view. The spot offered a wonderful vista of vineyards and hills in the background. The hawks were sweeping the skies looking for breakfast. I will definitely go back and paint here this week!

Two more stops and several sketches later, I decided to go further down the road. There was a view I had remembered from our last visit -- just before Ballard Canyon Road ends at the highway. I decided to go back and find it and hoped for a place to pull over... I  was in luck! There was a shady spot with just enough room for my car. The afternoon light was delicious... and I loved this sloping landscape with the cluster of trees casting wonderful shadows and offering peek-a-boo views between the trunks.

I love taking a break from completing "finished" paintings and instead set my focus on capturing simple color studies where I can explore new painting spots, work out compositions and collect pages of ideas in my sketchbook.

Saddles & Sketchbooks

Today, our friend (and wonderful host!) Angela invited us to visit a farm where she was going to take her first Western Dressage lesson. Caroline and I were happy to go along and see something new (western dressage!) and spend some time with horses (we miss our two!).
We took off and headed towards the town of Santa Ynez. We turned down the driveway and entered a wonderful old riding farm surrounded with amazing vistas of vineyards and mountains. It was a hot day, but there was a nice breeze coming across the pastures.
We met Agapito De La Cruz the owner of Etcetera Farm and watched as Angela had her first lesson. Then he hopped on his horse and demonstrated the dressage techniques. What an amazing horse. Agapito is a really skilled rider. It was incredible to watch!

While the lesson was going on I turned to see the barn bathed in sunlight.... it was a perfect sketching opportunity. To my delight a cowboy even walked through the barn with a great silhouette! I hussled to add that into the sketch. It was a quick sketch... 20 minutes! I love capturing the sketch in ink and then washing in splashes of color notes to finish it off.

I showed the sketch to Agapito and Adrianna and they were amazed to see what I had done. They loved the color and even recognized the horse and owner in the foreground. They invited Caroline to come back and ride and then offered lessons in trade for a larger painting of their barn. "Perfect!," I said. Caroline is so excited to be able to ride while we are here and to expand her horse experiences... and I get to paint in a wonderful settings. It's a win-win.
My plein air sketches have created new opportunities and introduced us to new friends. It's another page in the chapter of our Santa Ynez adventure!