Over the years I spent a lot of time visiting my sister and her family out in California. Since I was single for a long time, I would head out there once or twice a year...and usually when I visited we went off on some adventure. In 1981 we went to visit Bodie, which is a ghost town northeast of Yosemite National Park. From the website it looks like Bodie is a little more visitor friendly than it was back when I visited.
Here is a little information about Bodie from the website.
"Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Visitors can walk down the deserted streets of a town that once had a population of nearly 10,000 people. The town is named for Waterman S. Body who had discovered small amounts of gold in hills north of Mono Lake. In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed pay dirt, which led to the purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown.
Only a small part of the town survives, preserved in a state of "arrested decay." Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay." Today this once thriving mining camp is visited by tourists, howling winds and an occasional ghost."
I used a photo I had taken when we visited Bodie to do this sketch.
Old deserted buildings hold so much mystery. So many stories in each one. Fascinating drawing you have made.
ReplyDeleteIt was so strange to look inside and see it like someone had just walked out for a minute. Thanks.
DeleteI like the limited palette you've used to convey the feeling of this place. And the receding perspective is great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret. I love the shading on the brown barn wood in all the buildings. It was an interesting spot.
DeleteI love these old barns in your painting! You found a great spot to paint. It must really have been a feeling of ghosts to walk there.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was eerie to walk around in such a deserted area.
DeleteI can feel the ghostliness of this scene Joan. I can't believe I've never heard of it. I asked my husband and he's sitting here telling me all about it! He knows everything, says he has a booklet about it somewhere. Wants to go there! Really good painting you did of the area. Got to use your red paint again I see! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou should go. It is interesting to explore and would definitely make a great sketching opportunity. Yes, the red paint came out again. lol
DeleteThis old town must be an artist's paradise. You have captured the feeling of abandonment and decay perfectly, and the colours are so rich, lovely sketch.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Unfortunately back then when I visited Bodie I wasn't going out sketching. There are a lot of places that I visited in the past that I wish I had sketched.
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