On the Beauty of Run-down Old Buildings

There's a section of our drive to and from the U.P. that takes us through a beautifully rural area of Michigan. Driving through it, you first note that the towns and buildings are getting fewer and further between. Then you begin to notice that many of the houses haven't been lived in for years, and that nature is beginning to reclaim them. Each one tells a unique story, captured in briefly noticed details through the window at 60mph. On our drive back home today I was struck by the beauty of this old house, tucked in along the tree-line of stately old trees and possibly competing with them in age. I've seen this old house every time we've driven past it for years now, but the strong contrast provided by the snow this time really made it jump out at me. It has such a beautifully resonant loneliness to it - this place that seems to have been abandoned and left unloved. So I thought I might give it some attention this evening, and share it with all of you. And I love a good snowy winter value study. I think this one would make a nice digital gouache sketch too - it's been a while since I've done one of those.

-ZR