Crab Louie's

Crab Louie's 

20x16, oil

sold

This painting is of the historic Midlothian house that is now Crab Louie's Seafood Tavern.
It is part of "Familiar Places", the collection of paintings hanging at Cafe Caturra (Midlothian location). I took some process photos of the piece. Take a look:

The "underpainting" in Burnt Umber.

Painting in the sky & trees.

Working on the house and grass.

Working on the areas touched by the artificial light as well as the setting sun in the background.

Glazing more color everywhere.

And then I signed it and let it dry... but I wasn't happy with it.

I took some sandpaper to the painting. Here is the aftermath of the sanding excursion.

Sometimes you just need to take the risk of "ruining" something even if you don't know you'll be able to make it better. It keeps me from being too precious with my paintings. Sometimes this is just what a painting needs.

Glazed transparent Ultramarine Blue over the entire canvas so I could still see the "bones" of the scene and started again with redefining the house and windows.

Unfortunately I didn't take photos along the way after that... So the photo jumps to the final piece below:

Crab Louie's 

20x16, oil

sold

The Woolridge brothers, partial owners of the Mid-lothian coal mining company, built what is now Crab Louie’s Tavern in the 1700’s. It served as the home of Abraham Woolridge. In the later 1800’s the John Jewett family purchased the estate and turned it into a boarding house. It was named “The Sycamores” because of the abundance of sycamore trees in the area. Although the house has changed owners and undergone many other transformations over the years, the character and history are still evident. Crab Louies Seafood Tavern is located in the Sycamore Square shopping center on Midlothian Turnpike.