Friday, January 27, 2012

"Proud Lady Benton" -Sold

40"x30" mixed media on canvas

This painting may look small here, but it is actually a little larger than most. It measures 40 inches tall and 30 inches wide. The title comes from the fact that this house built in 1873, it is located in historic Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana and is called the "Benton House".

Here is a photo I took of it.


A little note about the house that I found on the internet:

BENTON HOUSE 312 S. DOWNEY (NW CORNER, DOWNEYAND OHMER): French Second Empire, 1873. Restored by the Irvington Historic Landmarks Foundation in 1966, this unusual one and one-half story structure was built by Nicholas Ohmer as a speculative property. Dr. Allen Benton and his wife Silence resided in the home during his tenure as Butler's president from 1886-91. Now the home of the Benton House Association, it is a meeting site for various Irvington organizations.


Well, that may be a little more than you want to know, but why the title "Proud Lady Benton"?

My artist friend Leigh is knowledgeable about historic stuff told me that Victorian houses in San Francisco painted with three or more colors are referred to as "Painted Ladies". This house has three colors for sure and is painted. We decided that she is a proud lady, thus "Proud Lady Benton"! Ahh, but she is not a Victorian, she is a French Second Empire, she is French, like Martine!

Hmm, French press coffee.... mmmm...

Have a wonderful weekend! I get to paint with the kids tomorrow!

-jM

12 comments:

joanieART said...

Remarkable painting, must be a showstopper in real life. Way to go, JM!

Angela Sullivan said...

My I do love the history. She is so big.... How do you paint that big? Extreme for my imagination when compared to my 5x7's...

martinealison said...

Une très belle interprétation de la superbe maison Benton...
Elle trône majestueusement...
Les couleurs sont éblouissantes et je soupçonne que si nous prenions ensemble un petit noir dans cette maison, il serait versé dans d'adorables tasses de couleurs vertigineuses!...
Gros bisous à vous.

JanettMarie said...

Yes, we should all get together over coffee at the Benton House and talk about big painting!

I say one must use bigger brushes to go that large for sure!

Connie Nobbe said...

I love this painting and the information about the house! What was your inspiration for taking this direction?

JanettMarie said...

Hi Connie,
It's time for me to start painting big, thus the size.
The image is my inspiration for the SAS 10 yards show that opens this Thursday at 5PM in the gallery. Because of the superbowl we are opening Thursday instead of Friday.

myra anderson said...

this painting is fantastic!

fine art in artful jewelry said...

great job janettMarie! i suppose though she is second empire in style she still is victorian? (victoria reigned from 1838 i think, til 1901.)

JanettMarie said...

Absolutely!

Lisa Graham said...

Janett! This is so great! I love how you made it sunshiny yellow and it has such a charm to its curves and lines. Historical buildings are such a sight and I love to look at them in person and in art. I have toyed with the idea of shooting photos of some of the historical churches here in Wichita, Kansas and painting them all. You have inspired me to consider this a little more seriously. Nice and charming work! (I think all of your work is charming).

JanettMarie said...

You go for it girl!!
I would love to see what you come up with!

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

Wonderful!