Lindley-Coble Barn

I’d zipped past this old Barn a bajillion times and it always stirred a romanticism in me. I finally followed my artistic impulses and took the french, the oils, and the big Stanley thermos full of coffee, and (with permission) went at it for about 4 hours. It was hot, so I kept having to chase the shade, but I didn’t pack up and leave until it was finished, which was my goal that particular day. The Coble family bought this barn from the Lindleys in the 1940s and moved it across the street- the dismantling/reconstruction was done by German prisoners of war (paid, in keeping with the Geneva Convention) who returned home after the war. Sadly, I’ve heard it is scheduled to be demolished to make way for more apartments. In these times of break-neck progress it’s way too easy to lose touch with our history. I glance at it every time I pass, each time hoping I won’t see a gaping void where it once stood so regally. But I also feel the gladness of having experienced it “up close and personal”, letting it pass through me as only a plein air painter can.