Winton Shular lived with his wife Vena at
their home on Chastine Creek in the Caney Fork area of
Jackson County. They have both passed on since this work
was done.
I did several paintings of subjects around their farm and
was fortunate to have Vena pose for a portrait while she
was lap quilting on her front porch.
Unfortunately Winton would not allow me to photograph him
for a possible painting so I had to settle for his jacket
hanging on the front porch wall instead.
I feel that this is representative of one of the finest
drybrush watercolors I have ever done. It is interesting to
note that this is a small painting and the reproduction is
the same size as the original.
Drybrush starts out with a wash of watercolor upon which an
artist builds successive layers of color using a brush with
almost all of the water squeezed out. It truly is a
building process. The more layers used, the stronger the
final effect. Although colors are used opaquely, enough of
the beginning wash should remain to provide a base for the
final image. A combination of brush strokes and paint
splatters (both controlled and accidental) with mostly
pigment combine to achieve the finished work.
