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ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-06-22 11:54 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-06-22 11:54 pm
Photos: Barnyard Picture
Hanging this picture of a barnyard was one of my goals for the year. \o/ It took us a lot of fuss and bother, but we got it up there eventually!
The back of the barnyard art shows that it's printed on cardboard and fastened inside a cheap wooden frame. For mass-produced art, however, it's definitely a cut above an unframed paper poster. A booth was selling various rustic art at the holiday market in the mall last December.
The cardboard is secured in the frame with staples. These are sturdy enough that you can bend them back and forth to add or remove things from the frame at least several times before they might break. It is among the most common methods for fastening things in a cheap frame. So we could theoretically move the picture to a glassed frame, or add glass to this one.
The original hanger is an improperly installed piece of wire, which stuck up above the frame before I bent it down behind the frame. Wire sticking above the frame looks awful. A properly installed wire hanger typically attaches to the sides of the frame and runs just below the top part of the frame. Contrast with the back of the thrifted watercolor painting.
So we installed a metal strip hanger instead, which does not show. We bought a whole box of hangers and screws, including this strip kind and another kind with little D-rings.
We hung the barnyard picture over the door to the common bathroom. This is in the dining room, and while you can't see it here, we have other pieces of rustic art elsewhere in the room.
Here is a closeup of the barnyard picture.
I love the picture because this is exactly the kind of scene we find in my locale over winter. The birds in the foreground are two male northern cardinals, a black-capped chickadee, and a tufted titmouse. The dark birds in the background could be European starlings or rock pigeons, both of which stay through the winter whereas the various blackbirds tend to migrate.
The brown spiky things along the front fence are the heads of teasel. The orange starbursts to the sides are likely bittersweet. The trees are harder to guess at, but I suspect the tallest ones to be common hackberry or black walnut from the shape; both are big tall trees with a vase shape. Elm is less likely but still possible; we have some here. On the right side, the medium tree with more horizontal branches may be a maple. The small ones could be a variety of things. Based on the condition of the plants and amount of snow, I suspect the timing to be late November or early December. Much later and the snow would be deeper, the weeds losing their shape and height. Though it should be noted, this part of central Illinois got much more snow in the past than it does nowadays.
Two types of fence appear, both common around here. In the front is barbed wire, strung on posts likely made from hedge wood aka osage orange. In the back is another wooden fence, which might be split rail with posts or boards with posts, hard to tell. It is probably made from more hedge wood, possibly walnut or cedar.
There are two old-fashioned silos, once used for storing grain. Modern ones tend to be a lot wider. The tall red barn is for large animals like cows and horses. The bit sticking up from the top is a dovecote, once used to raise pigeons or other doves for food, messages, or recreation. The upper story of the barn would be the hayloft, the lower story for the livestock. Below that, the slanted part with the wide door is a garage for farm equipment. To the left, the smaller red barn is probably for smaller livestock such as sheep or goats, and the slanted addition would be the chicken coop. However, it could also be a workshop or more storage.
Art historians often look at paintings for clues about a time and place. They study fruits and vegetables, other plants, animals, architecture, and other elements. It's worth a thought when choosing art for your own collection, what appeals to you, and what records things where you live or other places you care about.
The back of the barnyard art shows that it's printed on cardboard and fastened inside a cheap wooden frame. For mass-produced art, however, it's definitely a cut above an unframed paper poster. A booth was selling various rustic art at the holiday market in the mall last December.
The cardboard is secured in the frame with staples. These are sturdy enough that you can bend them back and forth to add or remove things from the frame at least several times before they might break. It is among the most common methods for fastening things in a cheap frame. So we could theoretically move the picture to a glassed frame, or add glass to this one.
The original hanger is an improperly installed piece of wire, which stuck up above the frame before I bent it down behind the frame. Wire sticking above the frame looks awful. A properly installed wire hanger typically attaches to the sides of the frame and runs just below the top part of the frame. Contrast with the back of the thrifted watercolor painting.
So we installed a metal strip hanger instead, which does not show. We bought a whole box of hangers and screws, including this strip kind and another kind with little D-rings.
We hung the barnyard picture over the door to the common bathroom. This is in the dining room, and while you can't see it here, we have other pieces of rustic art elsewhere in the room.
Here is a closeup of the barnyard picture.
I love the picture because this is exactly the kind of scene we find in my locale over winter. The birds in the foreground are two male northern cardinals, a black-capped chickadee, and a tufted titmouse. The dark birds in the background could be European starlings or rock pigeons, both of which stay through the winter whereas the various blackbirds tend to migrate.
The brown spiky things along the front fence are the heads of teasel. The orange starbursts to the sides are likely bittersweet. The trees are harder to guess at, but I suspect the tallest ones to be common hackberry or black walnut from the shape; both are big tall trees with a vase shape. Elm is less likely but still possible; we have some here. On the right side, the medium tree with more horizontal branches may be a maple. The small ones could be a variety of things. Based on the condition of the plants and amount of snow, I suspect the timing to be late November or early December. Much later and the snow would be deeper, the weeds losing their shape and height. Though it should be noted, this part of central Illinois got much more snow in the past than it does nowadays.
Two types of fence appear, both common around here. In the front is barbed wire, strung on posts likely made from hedge wood aka osage orange. In the back is another wooden fence, which might be split rail with posts or boards with posts, hard to tell. It is probably made from more hedge wood, possibly walnut or cedar.
There are two old-fashioned silos, once used for storing grain. Modern ones tend to be a lot wider. The tall red barn is for large animals like cows and horses. The bit sticking up from the top is a dovecote, once used to raise pigeons or other doves for food, messages, or recreation. The upper story of the barn would be the hayloft, the lower story for the livestock. Below that, the slanted part with the wide door is a garage for farm equipment. To the left, the smaller red barn is probably for smaller livestock such as sheep or goats, and the slanted addition would be the chicken coop. However, it could also be a workshop or more storage.
Art historians often look at paintings for clues about a time and place. They study fruits and vegetables, other plants, animals, architecture, and other elements. It's worth a thought when choosing art for your own collection, what appeals to you, and what records things where you live or other places you care about.
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Thank you!