Coach Barn - Duke Farms

A few weekends back I had the opportunity to visit Duke Farms and see the Coach Barn, which was open to the public for the first time in a long while.  It is a rather impressive building, complete with stables and working clock tower.  Constructed in 1900, the Coach Barn is where J.B. Duke conducted his day to day business.  The clock is over 100 years old, and has never broken down or failed to tell the correct time.  

The painting started on location and finished in my studio (I just like writing that) since the day was getting late and the bugs were biting.  As you can see below, it was still a bit rough and unformed.  I used several different pens to vary the line weight, trying hard not to "over work" it with unnecessary detail.

                          Watercolor, Pen & Ink on 140 lbs block 12x16

I set up with the en plein air easel and my niece joined me, creating her own painting.  It was fun.  Several people stopped over to watch us paint and ask questions, which is certainly something that never happens when I sit on a bench with a pad in my lap and sketch.

Here is the un-inked version of the painting.  I had to leave it a little too rough to call it a finished work.  The ink adding just the right amount of detail and clarity.