This article by Ray Spitzenberger first appeared in IMAGES for Nov. 11, 2021, East Bernard Express, East Bernard, TX.
About twenty or more years ago, I did dozens and dozens of pen and ink sketches of old Texas barns. After I ran out of old weathered barns to sketch in Wharton and East Bernard (which were a considerable number), my wife would drive me around various rural areas throughout Texas so that I could photograph barns which I would later sketch. I was able to sell every one of my barn drawings in gift and crafts shops in East Bernard and Wallis. Until I got tired of sketching old barns.
Barn sketches were still selling, but it kind of got to be the same old, same old for me, and I was eager to find other subjects to draw and paint. During that experience, I learned one thing about old barns, — most barns in Texas seem to be constructed from the same blueprint. My father built many a barn himself, and they were all made according to this dominant pattern. I found a couple exceptions, — one an old Wendish-style barn in Serbin, Texas, and a couple Wisconsin-style barns and silos somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, Texas.
This art project reminded me of Leon Hale’s book of outhouse sketches that came out in the 1970’s. His collection of old privies found throughout Texas were sketched by his friend, a very talented artist, Harry Anthony DeYoung, a far better artist than I will ever be! I remember several people at the time were bothered by the fact such a great artist would sketch outhouses. But, in contrast to old Texas barns, old Texas outhouses were quite varied and individualistic in design. Might have been more fun had I tried to sketch those, lol.
Near the end of my barn-sketching era, I began to add tractors and plows to the drawings. While old plows were as boring to draw as barns, tractors were endlessly fascinating to me, especially the really antique ones. By adding tractors, I think I extended by barn-sketching streak by at least a year, though buyers never seemed that interested in farm equipment.
No, in the early 21st century people appeared to be more interested in old barns, to the extent that even barn wood was very popular for house décor and picture frames. What else besides barn wood would you want to frame an old barn sketch in? I usually sold them matted and let the buyer frame the picture himself.
It seems that artists throughout history were faced with trendiness versus painting what you enjoy painting. Apparently, water lilies were much in vogue during Monet’s time, and he must have made a fortune painting them, considering how many of his I’ve seen. Van Gogh, however, who never sold a painting during his lifetime, just painted whatever moved his heart to paint. Both artists’ paintings are worth a fortune today.
Sometimes artists went through “periods” (such as Utrillo’s “white period”), but not because of trendiness, — not really sure why. During Utrillo’s “white period,” wherein he mixed white paint with plaster, his mostly white paintings made him a fortune. Not that I’m comparing myself to Utrillo, but I went through my “fancy lady” period, in which I sketched fancy ladies from my mother-in-law’s photos taken in the early 1900’s. This was probably a reaction to old barns, lol. Buyers of these sketches loved the ones of ladies wearing large, brimmed hats. My “fancy lady” sketches were even more popular than my barn sketches, — trendiness may have been a reason here, but it wasn’t my reason. I just happened to discover photos of elegant ladies waiting to be sketched.
Eventually, I stopped selling my art works and began donating them to the church auction. I suppose my job as pastor at that point in time inspired me to create “religious” art, and I can’t remember how many watercolors of Jesus as the Good Shepherd I created during that time, not to mention of Mary and the Christ Child. Of all the art I have done over the years, both created out of trendiness and out of what was in my heart, I loved, and still do, creating watercolors and Japanese ink paintings of Mary and the Christ Child the best.
I doubt in today’s post-Christian world Mary and Baby Jesus art will become trendy, but painting such satisfies my heart and soul.
-o-
Ray Spitzenberger is a retired WCJC teacher, a retired LCMS pastor, and author of three books, It Must Be the Noodles, Open Prairies, and Tanka Schoen.