Last of a Breed

Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas
100 signed and numbered by the artist
Image size: 23" x 29 1/2 "
Price: $600

Limited Edition Giclee on Canvas
250 signed and numbered by the artist
Image size: 19 " x 24 1/2 "
Price: $290

Limited Edition Giclee on Watercolor Paper
450 signed and numbered by the artist
Image size: 16 " x 20 1/2 "
Price: $210

Open Edition Print
Printed on archival paper
Image size: 11" x 14 "
Price: $85

Over the past thirty years I have noticed the disappearance of the tobacco barn and have long wanted to do a painting featuring this icon of the South before it fades from memory. Traveling the roads of Alamance County in search of that perfect barn, I stopped by the Lee Russell home, knowing of his history in growing the golden leaf. He took me around to see his old barns, but to my chagrin, they were too far gone. When Mr. Russell climbed on his old Farmall tractor, however, the painting came to life in my mind's eye. I decided to relegate the barns to second fiddle and make the farmer the focal point of the painting.

My painting is meant to honor his generation. In 2004, after the tobacco buy-out, a way of life ceased to exist for thousands down on the farm. The hard work of preparing plant beds for tobacco in the early spring and later priming and hanging the tobacco in the old log barns is a thing of the past for these folks.  With prayers for good weather always toward the top of the list on Sundays, they prevailed through the highs and lows of life to make their children’s lives a little easier than theirs. For these, the children of the Great Depression, the road has been long and hard, but they can look back with pride to a job well done.