Sodbuster Barn

I've recently begun working more with gouache
in order to be more familiar with its properties
for winter studio work. There are many similarities
to oil but the quick drying time takes some time to
get accustomed to, I think. This decaying barn
was located just a bit north of the South Dakota
northern border into North Dakota. It's near the
site of a semi-annual Sodbuster Festival where
out-dated farming methods are displayed. Most
work is done using real horse power! Since I
painted this scene, the building was razed and
burned. That has become almost a pattern in
my quest for the old and worn. Churches and
farmstead buildings have disappeared in the
wake of being recorded on canvas. There is a
sadness in it but no solution. Only to keep
at whatever subjects appeal to us and they do
seem to have much appeal to landscape painters
everywhere.