The Bluegrass Painter

Appalachian Christmas

Here is a rendering of the Village Church at Spruce Forest Artisan Village in Grantsville, Maryland that I did for our Christmas card this year.

Christmas Time Is Comin'

"Christmas Time is Comin" was an apt tune for the Friday after Thanksgiving as it seems to kick off the holiday season 'round here. J.C and The Boys with a few missing and a couple added, got together at our place and we had a real good time.  

On Saturday, the Queenbee and I spent part of the day in Oakland, MD taking part in the Dickens Christmas celebration and then went out to an open house at Dave Terlizzi's Sunnyside Farm. The only thing lacking was a snow cover which we usually have by now. All we had was a dusting.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. 

 

Travels with MaryE

Petunia tells me she's been enjoying the Travels with MaryE Blog, based in Wales.  Mary's journals are very interesting and entertaining.   Her latest post is a dandy, chronicling her evening out at an Uncle Earl show and definitely worth a read.   She also has some good posts on her travels in the US this past summer, including the IBMA.  We didn't get a chance to meet Mary this year, but will be looking for her in 08. 

The Fields Have Turned Brown

In my neck of the woods, they even turned white for a time last week...but the reason for this post is that on this date in 1949 the Stanley Brothers recorded "The Fields Have Turned Brown".  This is one of my most popular prints and you may have seen it before, but I figured it was worth posting.   And for this bit of trivia, I owe another shout out to The 2008 Bluegrass Calendar.

Hickory Ridge at IBMA

I'm finally getting back to reviewing some of my IBMA photos.  Here's one of Hickory Ridge, one of the first bands that we enjoyed listening to upon arriving at IBMA .  These guys are somewhat local to me as they are from south central Pennsylvania.  You can catch up with them at www.hickoryridgebluegrass.com. 

More on Stanton's Mill

After posting the Stanton's Mill painting, I thought you might be interested in reading more about this mill.   The Historical Marker Database also provides some interesting background.  The water powered mill is operational, thanks to the efforts of John Childers who recently restored the mill.   If you're ever near Grantsville, Spruce Forest Artisan Village,  Penn Alps Restaurant and the Mill are all worth a visit. 

Winter Scenes

I've been working on some winter scenes lately.  Here is one of historic Stanton's Mill in Winter.

Kentucky Mandolin

Thanks to my new Bluegrass Calendar, I now know that Bill Monroe recorded "Kentucky Mandolin" on this date in 1967.   You may have seen this one already, but if not, here is my version. 

   

Frosty Morn

This past weekend's weather sure made a point about things to come. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings had heavy frost and made me think about cold mornings past and a bit about Christmas.  The first painting here is one I did last year on a frosty morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The second is an imagined frontier Christmas based on the historic site of the Oliver Miller Homestead near Pittsburgh that played a role in the Whiskey Rebellion.