Art Gallery

Castle in the Snow

Fonthill

I'm often asked how I paint snow scenes since I work on site. The answer is that paintings such as Castle in the Snow are painted looking out a window, allowing me to be in a heated room or at least my truck while I paint. Rarely, there are winter days warm enough to allow outdoor painting in the climate where I live, but then there certainly wouldn't be snow on the ground! In this case I parked my truck where I had a great view of Fonthill, Dr. Henry Mercer's wonderful and unique home in Doylestown, Bucks County, PA..

The Mercer buildings in Doylestown----Fonthill, the Mercer Museum and the Tileworks----were a part of my childhood. My parents had an antiques business, were fascinated by old stuff, and my father was a big fan of the quirky, opinionated Dr. Mercer. I strongly suggest a trip to Doylestown for anyone unfamiliar with the Mercer legend. Fonthill was built between 1908 and 1912 from poured concrete---an extremely new and controversial building material at that time----and has 44 rooms and over 200 windows and skylights. To say that it's an amazing structure to paint is a serious understatement I've done it many, many times, but I'm particularly pleased by this modestly-sized painting of an incredible building set into such a perfect snowfall!

Price upon request.

Email : bertgrrrl@yahoo.com