Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Ruins at Rossie

I have been fascinated with the ruins of an old mill or factory in the town of Rossie. The remains of the building exist on both sides of the Indian River. I have painted the ruins twice in watercolor and just recently in acrylic paint. The two watercolors have more of a landscape feel, with the land, sky and river, and full of autumn colors. The acrylic painting features the ruins up close and from the vantage point of someone looking up at the remains of the brick walls against the sky. Autumn foliage is in the foreground. I photographed the ruins on a beautiful Sunday morning in October, when the fall colors were at peak in the North Country. (See blog post "Along Cottage Hill Road"). I feel that the dramatic lighting and angle help to give this painting a timeless quality.
This is one of the watercolors of the ruins. I enjoyed painting this, especially letting my watercolors flow to create the sky and treeline in the background. I tried to keep a light touch with this, playing more with the fall colors and shapes and not as concerned with creating depth.