The Star Barn Raising

I was honored to be commissioned as the onsite painter for last weekend's Star Barn Raising Festival.

  The Star Barn is a significantly historic barn, built in 1860, that sat along rt.283 between Harrisburg and Lancaster.  It has long been a favorite site for painters, photographers, and lovers of nostalgia.  The barn was purchased by a private owner last year and has been moved, along with it's outbuildings, piece by piece, to it's new location in Elizabethtown where it will be preserved as a venue for weddings and events.

I was asked to create 2 paintings, both 24x36, depicting certain actions in the reconstruction.  I kept thinking that the original barn raising may have had a few sketch artists, as not everyone had a camera back then.

The festival was well attended and I was able to talk to many people about my painting.  I was surprised that so many people relate to this barn in a personal way.  

At one point, an Amish teen boy (maybe 13) stood and watched me paint for about a half hour.  He asked a lot of questions about what I was doing and seemed very interested that I was painting just from observation - what I was seeing.  I thought that was a neat moment - art bringing together 2 very different people.

 painting #1 showing some of the outbuildings and the raising of the bents

painting #2 captured the lowering of the cupola into the structure by crane