Mr Kuerner at the Spring Fed Trough

Mr Kuerner always sat for me in a wood shed back behind his barn. He could usually sit for about an hour on days while it rained or looked like rain. On sunny days he was busy, working hard and making hay. He would talk while I painted and tell stories about old Chadd's Ford... its colorful characters and history. After he'd leave, I'd finish up and then seek out a background to paint in around the portrait.

In this case, I completed the background when I got back to Maui, from a study I'd done of the trough while on the farm. You can see the same trough immortalized in the incredible Wyeth painting called "Spring Fed." Every day before the sun was up I'd draw a cup of water from this trough to use for my watercolor paintings. I'd wait in there a while in hopes of having some spirit rub off on me to help me at work. I was in awe doing so, knowing how much time Andrew had spent right there while working on his paintings and sketches.

The Kuerner's were dairy farmers. This area was the milk house. Milk was kept cold in the spring water here. The entire farm seems to hold lingering spirits, but for me this was where I felt them the strongest.

2139