Thursday, January 24, 2008

Old House, La Verne


oil on wood 18x24

Riding around near the Pomona Raceway in La Verne, we came across this spooky old house that looked closed up. I tried a different approach painting wise, blowing out as much detail as possible with thin paint in the shadows mostly with rags, thicker with brush in the lights. I then put it away for a month and came back and reworked into it, ignoring the referance trying to merge it into the background even more. I'm hoping a varnish coat will crisp it up a bit.

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18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This REALLY must be a haunted house! Spooky mood! Great as always!

5:54 PM  
Blogger BoneDaddy said...

BIll, this house is incredible. You've captured a desolate atmosphere while keeping the scene silent. This one is bumped up to favorites right along with your bird in the jar and one of your railroad ones.

6:41 PM  
Blogger jem said...

beautiful painting. The slight glimpses of detail work so well.

7:11 PM  
Blogger Jesse said...

that is one goddamn scary house.

7:47 PM  
Blogger tonypetersart said...

Sweeet. The cool palette makes it look like it's lit by moonlight.

8:23 PM  
Blogger indiaartist said...

The hazy outlines of the house are contrasting the clear skies and creating that haunted look. Great work.

4:10 AM  
Blogger Joe Kazimierczyk said...

Another great one Bill - very moody and very nice!

Just curious: do you ever worry about painting too thin, such that there's not enough binder left holding the pigment down? Do you thin with pure turps or spirits, or something else? Inquiring minds...

7:50 AM  
Blogger Hattermad said...

Got that benign spooky-ness like "House By The Railroad"...

Composition's damn sharp too!

7:52 AM  
Blogger Ambera said...

I love the tiny detail included in the fence. I think those little marks add so much interest to the painting.

9:17 AM  
Blogger About said...

This is the kind of house kids dare each other to enter, and tell greusome horror stories about. Deliciously dark and spooky!
(Found you through W.K...love your stuff!!)

10:38 AM  
Blogger Chris Ousley said...

I bet there is a skeleton in the crawlspace. Well done piece. I live in LaVergne... LaVergne Tennessee that is.

6:30 AM  
Blogger Kim VanDerHoek said...

Very moody and dark. Nice handling of the paint to capture the feel of this house. Love it!

10:46 AM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks thor!

5:38 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

thanks BG Your are to kind .

5:39 PM  
Blogger william wray said...

Thanks J and J!

5:40 PM  
Blogger A Reason to Paint said...

This one is my absolute favorite of all your works. I love the spookyness, the blur to the shadows, the detail of that front window - I'm sure there must have been some eyes watching you from the depths of that room. This is so cool! Wish I could afford it!

3:16 AM  
Blogger Stefan Nuetzel said...

Fabulous mood! Great brushwork und another stunning painting! Your work is so inspiring.

1:47 PM  
Blogger Michael Pieczonka said...

A nice ominous feeling. Definitely wouldn't want to stay there overnight!

12:08 AM  

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