I am sharing another graphite piece today that keeps us grounded in Barrow County, Georgia. Not far from the historic church I sketched recently sits this abandoned farmhouse, quietly decaying along Rockwell Church Road.
Like much of my work, this drawing began as a photograph taken through the lens of my Pentax. There was something immediately striking about the isolation of the structure. For the translation to paper, I chose Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils. The grading of these pencils allowed me to push the contrast, digging into the heavy, dark textures of the weathered siding and the deep, impenetrable shadows lurking beneath the covered porch.
To enhance the feeling of quiet observation, I emphasized the barren, skeletal tree branches sweeping across the foreground. They act as a natural frame, pushing the farmhouse further back into the landscape and adding to that subtle, Southern Gothic atmosphere that permeates these forgotten spaces. It is a study in texture, memory, and the slow reclamation of rural architecture.
Technical Details:
- 9×12 hot press Fabriano
- Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils
