This is a painting from last year for which I finally got a decent scan made. It's a door of the courthouse in Concho County, Texas. For the Central Texans familiar with the old Blanco County Courthouse in Blanco, the two buildings are identical. The same architect apparently sold the same design to both counties. The Concho County version is made with better stone and is generally better preserved, but otherwise they're twins.
What interested me about that entrance/exit is the contrast between the two doors, one dark, the other light, a sort of commentary on outcomes when matters are litigated and there are winners and losers.
> What interested me about that entrance/exit is the contrast between the two doors, one dark, the other light, a sort of commentary on outcomes when matters are litigated and there are winners and losers.
Kent,
My first thought was of the doors of justice...one for the dark...one for the light...
but then thought of the term "[url= https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=for+sale+at+the+courthouse+door+arkansas&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42553238,d.aWM&biw=1024&bih=635&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=VgIfUYy_Lo2xqwHGpIDADg#um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=for+sale+at+the+courthouse+door&oq=for+sale+at+the+courthouse+door&gs_l=img.12...4532.6324.0.9113.9.9.0.0.0.0.102.815.8j1.9.0...0.0...1c.1.3.img.rE6tmPdI5aM&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42553238,d.aWM&fp=17e1d89d523ec8dc&biw=1024&bih=635 ]for sale at the courthouse door..."
DDSM:beer:
(nothing in this post is intended to be political, religious, nor racist)
> My first thought was of the doors of justice...one for the dark...one for the light...
Yes, that's what I connected with in the image when I originally saw it. You enter the shadowy door and exit the illuminated one on the left. That is actually a side door of the courthouse facing East. The foreclosures and sheriff's sales would probably be on the front steps on the South side.
Great imaginations fellows, I just see one side has a screen door and the other doesn't.
> Great imaginations fellows, I just see one side has a screen door and the other doesn't.
Engineering background? :>
Your texturing of the stones is very good! The rest of the painting, too. But the detail in the stones caught my eye.
well, I noticed that the "vandals took the handles" in a subterranean homesick blues kid of way. does the piump still work?
> Your texturing of the stones is very good!
I'll reveal the trick to painting those rusticated stones. I cut a piece of sponge about the size of a stone, applied a dark glaze to it and stamped the rough stone texture over the basic colors of the blocks that had been painted first. The highlights were added afterwards.
> well, I noticed that the "vandals took the handles" ...
The vandal didn't paint in the hinges, either. :>
> Engineering background? :>
No engineering, two generations of country carpenters raised my father. Built everything from barns & grange halls to finished furniture and farmed as well. Dad became a mechanic, welder, surface mine heavy equipment operator and jack of all trades. I was raised on a farm and completed a mail order illustration art course. Grew up around equipment like this.
Later took a job with surface coal mine & worked on survey crew while pursuing a computer programming degree. Stayed in surveying instead of computers. Background tends to make me analyze the graphic/real world details and not think about artistic motivation.
While searching for the door knobs I completely missed the hinges.
GREAT JOB!!! I am in that courthouse at least once a month. I usually go into the West facing door. Would you mind if I sent a copy of your picture to Phyllis in the Clerks office and to Judge Amos?
Wes
