This two story Dutch colonial structure was build during the 1940?s and was situated adjacent to several other newer single story houses. It was likely one of the oldest structures left in the area and was clearly being overcome by urban expansion and poor maintenance of subsequent owners. Located in a sparsely populated thinly wooded area, the house was built on a slight hill several hundred feet from a nearby road. There were several neighbors nearby in one story houses.

This two story house featured a back, upper balcony level with a grand view of its surroundings. The mixture of double hung windows suggested modification and upgrades on the house. The screens appeared to be more recent additions though only a few remained. The extensive railing on the upper and lower porches had several broken or missing balusters that showed signs of deterioration. Several viewing angles were considered but this close view featured the balcony, tapered columns and the extensive deterioration. The bottom left clapboard siding had become detached leaving the internal wall and support studs exposed. The porch structure was dilapidated and deteriorating while some of the rails were broken and missing on the first and second floors. The four post on the first floor remained sturdy, however, the last post in the right was failing and the far post on the top right was beginning to buckle.

To capture the isolated mood of the earlier era, the adjacent newer houses were not included in the drawing. The brickwork surrounding the house and the background landscape has been added for effect by the artist. This pencil drawing was done in two point perspective emphasizing the perspective of the balcony. Each clapboard siding was drawn to converge to the proper vanishing points to create the proper perspective. The shading and shadows capture the angle of the sun overhead from the right. The drawing was initially done in pencil on 18 inch by 24 inch 90 pound acid free paper.

THE ARTIST?S IMPRESSION: I kept with the theme of families emerging from difficulty. I examined the house and landscape and picture a family with children living there while maintaining a strong family support system though the children eventually left to pursue their own lives after having developed strong family values.

Limited Edition Quantity: 375
Medium (Giclee on museum quality paper)
Certificate of Authenticity
Designation: JAC15