Van Wickle Gates in the Fall

Here is a watercolor I painted in December '09 of the Van Wickle Gates from Brown University in Rhode Island. This was a commissioned painting from someone who saw the first "Gates" painting I posted here on my blog on 2/22/09. To make this one unique, I drew out parts of the painting with ink, and changed the season and color palette. This time I painted the bricks in front with a kind of plaid coloring to remind one of chilly Fall air and the east coast woolens.

I love the challenge of painting commissions. Matching a person's idea of what they'd like to receive with my interpreting it into a painting for them is like puzzle work to me, only easier since I get to make it up. Hopefully the finished product is better than what we both expected. In this case I know we were both happy with the result.

From A to Z: Van Wickle Gates at Brown University

I painted this for my niece's graduation present. I love painting historical sites and places of interest. The Freshman class at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island enter the gates and don't officially exit the gates as a class until they graduate. I was privileged to share in this moment at my niece's graduation when the gates were opened wide and hundreds of happy graduates in cap and gowns poured through them.