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Echoes of the Old Yard: Capturing a Disappearing World

My next goal, more ambitious this time than the previous gouache painting I did, was to paint a view from my parents' house window, where I have been living recently. As a reference for this idea, I used a photo I took one afternoon showing a bowl filled with water where cucumbers were floating, while in the distance, you could see my grandmother's house and the house of my distant uncle. Both of these houses were once one farm.

The primary reference photo showing a bowl of cucumbers on a countertop with a large farmstead and a concrete fence in the background.

A Glance at the Surroundings

My grandmother's yard holds many memories from my childhood, a lot of nostalgia, and a world which, after the deaths of my great-grandparents and my grandfather, is slowly passing away, being replaced by the modern, more comfortable, yet starker and more artificial environment of modern households. My grandmother's yard was always very lively, full of randomly and intentionally scattered flowers, bushes, and fruit trees.

A sunny view of a grandmother's house wall and an old wooden gate with a metal rod, featuring a row of tall pink and purple foxgloves. The same scene of the wooden gate and foxgloves, with the artist's own house visible in the far distance. An artistic, 90-degree angle shot of the house facade, showing the foxgloves and the fence in an aesthetic composition. A view from the artist's house showing the large farmstead with two houses, the road, and the surrounding countryside. An elevated perspective from a roof window overlooking the same farmstead and the painted landscape area.

The Evolution of the Canvas: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

I decided to use fewer details and colors in the painting. I wanted it to be like a sketch in color, commemorating only the most characteristic places and excluding the other farms around, memorializing this old farm which for decades shaped, probably as one of the first, the landscape of my village.

Preliminary pencil sketch on ordinary paper attached to a beechwood board with a ruler and a square. The initial sketch successfully transferred onto high-quality Arches paper. Arches paper with edges taped off to create a clean white border for the painting. The masked Arches paper secured to a beechwood easel using washi tape. First layers of gouache paint showing the blue sky and a wide cultivated field. Painting of an alder tree top and a young forest stretching across the composition. Addition of two more cultivated fields in varying green and earth tones. Progress shot adding another individual field to the landscape. Two more fields completed along with the top of a poplar tree. Fine-tuning the landscape with one more field in the background. Farmstead details including barns, fences, a well, a walnut tree, and garden greenery. A close-up view of the painted houses and the large farmstead area. Detailed painting of building facades, roofs, and the crowns of fruit trees. Middle section showing the first version of grass and shadows (later repainted). The final, proper version of the grass layer in the middle of the painting. Refined grass area with corrected bushes on both the left and right sides. The road painted in a realistic color that was later changed to match the painting's palette. The road in its final color featuring a small bridge over a river in the center. Foreground elements: a concrete fence, window frame, bowl, and countertop. Detailed view of fresh cucumbers in a bowl of water on the countertop. The countertop color updated from white to a deep graphite tone. The completed gouache landscape painting still featuring the masking tape border. Final painting on the easel with the border tape removed and final touch-ups ready.

Framing the Artwork

Similar to my first gouache work, I chose a custom "Koudou" frame and a Castilian Ivory passe-partout, both made by Mende Frames.

The finished gouache painting of the large farmstead, framed in a custom black frame with a Castilian Ivory passe-partout.

Final Thoughts

Working on this piece was a significant challenge for me, much greater than my first painting. I didn’t track the exact hours, but I’m certain I dedicated over 100 hours to it! For my first work, I ran dozens of comparisons in a graphics program to choose the base palette beforehand. This time, however, I decided to step into the unknown and choose the colors as I went.

As you can see in the photos, several large sections had to be completely repainted, which is quite a hurdle when working with gouache. Just like with my first piece, the paper buckled slightly from the water. I still enjoy painting on it, but it’s definitely an area I need to refine. Am I satisfied with the final result? I think so - though I felt a deeper sense of satisfaction after finishing my previous work. This painting came out a bit dark in daylight, and there are many details that could still be polished, but I decided I had given it enough time.

I always try to follow one rule: listen to your intuition (the voice of God, in my case). I never rest on my laurels until I feel inner peace - until there is no longer an element screaming: "Fix me!" from the canvas. When the painting stops stinging my eyes, that is when I finish my work. Only then do I feel I’ve created something that has gained its own "material soul" and personality - something called forth from non-existence.