"My Latest Effort,"Barnardsville Barn"...

I'm entitling it, "Barnardsville Barn" because that's what it is, and that's where it's at!

This is my latest painting which I created from a photo I took while visiting a friend a couple of months after Hurricane Katrina. I took a series of shots from this area as it was that "golden" time of the evening in the fall in North Carolina. I just loved the light and colors that were created by the long autumn shadows.

A few of my artists friends were questioning the logic of the placement of the barn, which is smack down center of the piece and the offset fence in the foreground. In the process of painting the picture, the fence was white and not aligned horizontally. Because of that, the fence overpowered and aggravated the eyes of some viewers. The centered barn was almost unnoticed save an intense blue tin roof which reflected the sky.

The original unfinished painting!

Anyway, putting the fence more in shadow helped me tell the story and create the visual tension I was searching for. Whadd'ya think?

Copyright 2014/Ben Bensen III