Frannie's Blog

My photo
Vankleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
I look for beauty and truth in everything. It's not always there of course but I try to find it or make it happen. I love people who make me laugh.

Friday, February 19, 2010

House Portraits

I love painting houses. This log house is in Northern Ontario and was done for the family of the late owner. It's now covered with vinyl siding but they managed to find an old black & white photo for me to work from.

I did this one for the owners of the farmhouse not far from where I live now.

I believe this house is somewhere in Nova Scotia. It was a commission done entirely from a photograph so I never saw the real thing.

This house in Vankleek Hill was painted for a local art exhibit straightforwardly entitled 'The Houses of Vankleek Hill'.

Here is a typical Vancouver Island house which caught my imagination. I welcome any opportunity to add whimsy to my paintings, making the buildings come alive.

Someone actually lived here. It was near Kendall Ontario where I took the photo and I might have added a bit of embellishment but not much.

This and the next two Hudson buildings are now gone. GLASSBLOWERS' COTTAGE was designated a heritage site as it had originally housed the glassblowers of the Como Glassworks. While I lived in Hudson it was variously a private residence, an art gallery and finally a restaurant, L'Ambience, which burned down one night.

I called this one 'Paved Paradise' because it was torn down to make way for a parking lot. At the time I painted it two unique clothing stores were operating; PATCHES and TEA & SYMPATHY. That was before the Quebec language laws were in full force.

The now defunct Hudson Hardware on Yacht Club Road was finally replaced by a much bigger but less quirky store adjacent to this site. I remember walking across the creaky wooden floor and hearing everything rattle as I approached the counter. This place was a true Hudson experience.

10 comments:

Barbara Strobel Lardon said...

Love them all! I can never pick a favorite of your work. I guess the added whimsey pieces are especially charming. It was fun seeing them all in one post!

Lori Andrews said...

Wonderful works, glad I found you. ;)

William Hessian said...

wow. great works. some seem to have some unrealistic, or fantastic dimensions. I love that.

the technical ability is also impressive. i love the character in those homes.

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Knatolee said...

I love these. You really bring out the character in the houses, which is a true talent. Beautiful.

David K Small, artist said...

Very nice work.

Bee Skelton said...

Beautiful work!

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