On The Market

This month the Virtual Paintout is visiting Clare County, Ireland and this little scene I found as I wandered around Google maps. A rundown, dilapidated house with holes in it's roof, overgrown trees & shrubs in the front, and a broken chimney. And there, in front, are the For Sale signs. A handy man special that is off the main road, with plenty of green surrounding it to make it peaceful. And it probably was once very peaceful for whomever lived there, but now it appears to be vacant.

Vacant houses/buildings have always intrigued me. Even when driving, if I notice one, I tend to pause as I look at it. I am almost compelled to stop and look - and listen. I try to hear the house's song - it's story of life before the vacancy. And I try to imagine who lived there, who worked there, and what they did while they were there.

Even as a child I had this desire to look & listen to houses, especially abandoned ones. As kids, we would always find an open window or unlatched door that would allow us entry. And often, the insides were in shambles - as people left in a hurry, and some of their belongings were left in piles on the floor. These were the "haunted" houses, as we called them.

And in looking back, I realize they were "haunted" only because, as kids, we could hear the song the house would sing. Every resident of every home leaves a piece of themselves within the walls. And every home (except brand new built homes) carries those moments throughout its lifetime. If you walk into an empty house & be quiet - close your eyes if you can - you will hear/see/sense the song that the house is singing. Some houses are happy while others are not, it all depends on what events occurred in their past.

This little stone cottage in Ireland, with it's broken chimney, is waiting for someone to find it. One day, someone will hear it's song and fix it up again. And it will once again be a quaint cottage, off the main road, in a peaceful, green valley. And there it will happily collect the events of it's new family to add to it's song.

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas