"Rakin' and Rootin' - Waitsfield, Vermont" (12"X16", Oil on Canvas, $450)
I did this painting after a springtime visit to our friends at their B&B in Waitsfield, Vermont. As might be expected, there's a fair amount of rural activity in the area, since Waitsfield isn't on most people's radar, except as the town that serves the ski industry in winter.
I took the reference for this photo just as these two guys were finishing with one chore and heading towards the barn to get the tools for the next one. I saw the tools in their hands but still felt the need to ask them "What have you guys been doing?" as I raised the camera to my eye. It turns out that my question sounded just as inane to them as it now sounds to me. The response I got from the farmer and his son became the title of the painting: "Rakin'" said the father, followed quickly by the son's comment: "Rootin'".
The weather was beautiful that day, with puffy springtime clouds and bright blue sky. Not too hot, so that prepping the field wasn't too sweaty a task. The warm red of the farm buildings contrasted nicely with the blue sky and the cool blue-white of the metal silo. I like the lost edge of the silo against the cloud, merging the two. I also like the curving dirt road that bends into the far building, bringing the viewer's eye back into the painting.
I suppose the farm is a historic building, as seen by the "1903" sign over the near building. I didn't bother to ask about that, for fear of getting the obvious response: "Ayuh".
These are lovely:)
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