SHAKER FAST FOOD - 4

Here is a list of colors used in this painting – do you think it was too many??? By my count, there are 28 colors listed below! I just don’t understand that “limited palette” idea!

Table - Sepia, Van Dyke brown, quin gold deep (limited), monte amiata
Background and areas on the various cans - Hooker’s green, sap green, thalo blue and thalo turquoise
Beets - Quin magenta, perylene maroon
Lima beans - hooker’s green
Tomato – quin sienna, perylene scarlet, quin gold deep (limited)
Cans - sodalite
Also – appearing in a supporting role – quin gold, indanthrone blue (seems I can’t paint a painting without these two!), quin. burnt orange, permanent brown, permanent lemon yellow, arylide yellow, aureolin yellow, Venetian red, Indian red, French ultramarine, raw sienna, cobalt teal, cobalt blue, cerulean blue
Most of these colors are from Daniel Smith.

Shaker Fast Food, watercolor on Arches 300#, 15x22

SHAKER FAST FOOD - 3

Some might call this “paint by number” and they would probably be right! But I am enjoying the challenge to get the colors similar to what is in the photo. This is not photorealistic (like Jacqueline Gnott or Laurin McCracken)  but as close as I’m able to get! I thoroughly enjoy these detailed paintings. Maybe because I can paint a small area and while it’s drying I can start dinner or switch the laundry and by the time I’m back the painting has dried enough for me to continue working.

Another layer of paint over the words.

More work on the cans.  I decided to do the labels first since they are so detailed, and then I’ll do the cans all together and then I’ll mix up some black for the lettering and labels.

I have never done a painting this detailed before. I even had to buy a “0” round brush for all those little spaces and letters!
I enjoy seeing this painting come to life!

SHAKER FAST FOOD - 2

These cans were set up on an old table in a dining area and the colorful labels caught my eye. It was a revelation to me that they had canned goods “back in the day”! (This is the source of the painting’s name). I’ll have to do some research on this! So this painting captures both a happy memory and a little slice of history in a colorful way!

I applied the miskit on the words, which took several hours! I used the miskit since I want to remove the graphite before I apply the last layer of paint to the background. When I remove the miskit it will take off most of the graphite and then I can erase any residual before I apply that last background layer.

I put on a few layers of green and blue over the background.

Then I began layering on browns in the table area.

Then I started on the cans.

SHAKER FAST FOOD 1

We always have a reason to create a painting and viewers want to know that reason. If you follow this blog you know that I have painted some still lifes which incorporate items left to me by my mother and grandmother; simple items that, while not worth much monetarily, have sentimental value for me. I’m told that those paintings tell a story and go beyond just seeing the objects. If so, that’s great, but I don’t usually paint with a deep psychological bent; I just paint things that have meaning for me and if that comes through to the viewer, all the better.

This particular painting is one of what I hope to be a series of paintings from my trip to Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky last year with Rhonda Carpenter and another friend. (To see another painting composed from that trip go here .  It was the first time we had traveled together so I was a little concerned how it would work out. Turns out there was no cause for concern – the three of us had a blast! – and I got some decent photos to work from.

Here are the cans drawn out - the edges were taped so that when I added the words I wouldn’t accidentally trace them over the cans.

ANOTHER SHAKER VILLAGE

Just another quick post about the Shakers.

These photos are from the Shaker village in our area – about 20 minutes from my house. My husband and I had driven past these buildings a few years ago and I knew they were Shaker, but that’s all. Spending time in KY last week piqued my curiosity and we drove out there the other evening to take another look. I have learned that there is a group trying to restore the buildings.

At Shaker Village in KY there was a real village with most of the buildings in one central location. Here they are spread out into 3 separate “villages” a few miles apart, so I think it will be much harder for this group to get this organized for a tourist area. But, I love history and it’s really neat to realize that these buildings remain from the early 1800’s – there is even a cemetery that we will have to go back and explore.  And this building is the meeting house - single door (!) and one of the oldest brick Shaker buildings.

Just thought I’d share!

SHAKER VILLAGE

I spent 2 days last week at Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, KY with Rhonda and another friend. The trip involved a brown mouse, a heavy suitcase, lots of steps, lots of laughter, and getting lost several times – both in the Village which only has one main street (don’t ask!!!) and on the highway – due to a quirky GPS named Georgia!
The village dates from early 1800's to 1912.  The Shakers were innovators in construction and medicine, and the engineering of some of these buildings is amazing!
Even though we all went into and passed the same buildings and took lots of photos of the same things, all of our pictures are different (just like the same painting done by more than one person!) We also saw different items in some of the buildings and surprised each other when we passed our cameras around in the evening.
The weather was cool and rainy the first day, but we didn’t let that dampen our spirits. The second day dawned sunny and warmer.
I won’t bore you with all the details or all the photos (not enough room on the blog for that!!!), but here are a few you might find of interest.

One of the workers with a baby goat.  And, did you know that Rhonda can “bleat” just like a goat!!!

Looking down the middle of the street – that used to be KY 68 until the mid-60s when the village began to be renovated and the highway moved.

This is the main building in center of town - it is HUGE!  I climbed all the stairs to the top of the building which housed huge closets on the top floor for storing seasonal clothing - built in drawers and tons of pegs!  It also housed an infirmary, school room, kitchen and huge dining hall, and sleeping rooms - men on one side, women on the other. 

Beautiful double staircase in the huge and tall entry way; tall arched doorways to let in light and air; they even had windows in the closets to allow in light and air! 

Water house on left, which contains a huge round water tank up on stone pillars.  Water was pumped here and supplied the village water.  The water was inside to keep it clean; warm in winter and cool in summer!

The building on the right was the "brethren's" wash house.  We peeked in the door to see the old fashioned bath tubs (wonder how many others before us did the same thing!!!)

This building makes me think of the "log cabin" pattern that I used to make a quilt for my son many years ago.  I believe that it was also one of the dwellings.
The top photo is the meeting house - which has an unobstructed hall on the first floor.  The weight of the entire building is held by the huge wooden timbers on the 3rd floor, much like a suspension bridge!
This is where the Shakers held their meetings, which could range from 15 minutes or 23 hours!  They entered and sat on moveable benches and waited for "the spirit to move them".  We watched a presentation of one woman with an amazing voice who sang some of their songs and performed a few of their dances.  (The Shakers danced and sang for their worship and would allow visitors who sat around the sides of the hall).  When this woman performed the dance and stomped her feet, it hurt my ears.  She told us that there would have been hundreds of Shakers in that room at one time dancing - and that they could be heard 4 miles away!  They called themselves The Believers, but visitors who watched their dancing and "shaking" during worship coined the name "Shakers".
The floors in the building where we spent the night never even squeaked, nor did the stairs - after all these years (unlike the floors and stairs in my house!!!)
It was a lovely and informative and fun couple of days!