The Oakley Cabin, oils on canvasboard, 11" x 14." $300 framed with traditional style gold frame.After painting at The French Confection in Sandy Spring in the morning, I went over to the Oakley Cabin on Brookeville Road. Built in the 1820's as a slave cabin, this well-preserved historic site is now operated as a museum by Montgomery County. They are open only two Saturdays a month and this wasn't one of them, so the place was locked up and very quiet.
The weather was glorious; the light and warmth of the afternoon invited one to linger in the rural setting. Alone, I could almost imagine myself back in the 19th Century, seeing the cabin's inhabitants... perhaps an African American woman was hanging out the wash on this fine autumn day, while her husband cut firewood in back and the children played... an illusion interrupted only by the occasional car driving by.
Seeing me there with my "Artist at Work" sign, two cars stopped briefly: a soldier in camouflage uniform commented favorably on my painting, and later a soccer mom chauffeuring two lively girls who were interested in art. By six, the shards of light had left the grass and only the tops of the trees were lit. My painting was finished and I headed home, feeling tired, but well-spent.
