Old Main, Summer, Washington County

Old Main, Summer

14X18, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

 

Every Arkansan should know this building.  Even if you didn't go to school here or prefer to cheer for that other school over in the Delta you should still know where this is.  For non-Arkansans, this is Old Main.  It is the cornerstone building of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  The building has two towers but this painting only depicts the south tower.  There is a legend that says that the architect who designed the building was a Confederate sympathizer and designed the south tower to be taller than the north tower.  However, during construction, the contractor, who was said to be a Northerner, noticed the difference and flipped the plans thus making the north tower the taller one.  There is no proof of the veracity of this story so we will never know but it is a fact that the north tower is slighly taller and has a convex shape while the south tower is concave.  The building was completed in 1875 and was at the time the largest building in the state.

This painting will be featured in a solo show I have coming up at the Cantrell Gallery.

Sultry Searcy Day

Sultry Searcy County Day

18X24, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

Here is a larger version of a study I did a few weeks ago.  I have not painted this large in a while.  It was nice to see this one come together as quickly as it did since the last relatively large piece I did took several months to work out.

Being the lazy blogger I am, I have a rather substantial backlog of pieces to post, including some new counties.  You'd think I'd be in a hurry to post new counties.  I'll get around to it soon.

I have also recently learned that the Buffalo National River has canceled all artist residencies going forward due to budget cuts.  I believe that mine is the first one being cut.  It may be a blessing in disguise though as about half of my residency was going to taken up with teaching a workshop.   While I would have enjoyed the new challenge of teaching, I think I need to be spending most of my time in the act of painting.  I still plan on going to the river this fall and camping and painting just as I would have during my residency.