Hope Plantation, Windsor, NC

Hope Plantation in Windsor, NC is the restored home of former NC Governor David Stone. The mansion in this pastel was built in 1803.

The holidays are a great time to visit Hope Plantation as the buildings are wonderfully decorated with natural materials such as holly, beeswax, and all sorts of native plants. A few years ago, my wife and I joined part of the decorating team to learn a few things -my wife, Antoinette, working alongside Betsy Overton. I made my way outside and painted this pastel before the sun was completely set.

For those who have never painted in this way I recommend you try it very soon. As an artist invests in a subject and observes it over a brief span of time, it is truly amazing what one sees as the light shifts and fades, comes and goes over different areas --things you would normally miss in the quick movement we generally make in our lives. Working fast helps an artist, and being able to remember what one sees is a great asset as a subject such as this old house and trees will slide into a completely alternate look in just about no time.

When you visit Hope Plantation, stop and view the Hope House across the lawn from the older 1763 King-Bazemore House, where you will find a view like this I painted in 2007

Steamer Neuse

The Steamer Neuse operated from New Bern to Washington, NC in the days before public ferry systems, bridges, and decent roadways. Having sailed much of the Neuse River I can appreciate how long it must have taken and what some of those trips would have felt like as the river is very wide and can fetch up some nice sized swells. While a pain for frequent travelers it must have been an exciting trip for the infrequent passengers and children. For those of us living in the 21st century (and you know there are some who are not), a steamer trip like this would have been much too long and dull. But what a great little journey for reading or snoozing, or just watching the shore line and sky. I like to imagine how ships appeared at night.

I'm posting older works as I'm in the middle of a 30 X 40 inch illustration of the Steeples and Spires of Wilmington, NC. I should have that finished in a few days and will have time to apply myself to more daily painting, which is something I'm longing to do and have been wanting to do for some time.

Hope of Spring Magnolia

This lovely blossom greeted me a year and half ago at the NCSU Arboretum in Raleigh. Not much was in blossom but Magnolia Biondi, an early blooming (-10°F, USDA Zones 6-8) welcome sight. This is a sweet small pastel on paper (100% cotton), image size about 3 x 4 inches, with a simple white single mat measuring 8 X 10 outside dimensions, I gently wrote in pencil on the mat just below the opening, "the Hope of Spring Magnolia / Magnola Biondi". Unframed. Signed John H. Anglin 2008 in pencil. I'll miss it.

Turning Dogwoods

My yard is changing fast --the leaves fading quickly! These dogwood leaves are now either red or on the ground. I painted them live last week, standing in the backyard of Sarahurst, the house we live it at Kinston. I don't remember a more beautiful year for our dogwoods --in the spring it seemed the blossoms were around for almost a month and remained nice looking shapes and great color for week after week. Now, at the end of the year they are continuing to show well with lots of red berries and great leaves. Against the blue sky the sight is arresting, as you probably know and can appreciate if you've been watching your own yard and neighborhoods for the changing colors.

Actually, it was the poison ivy leaves that I should have painted --they were a dark cadmium red and now, after a little rain, are all gone. Next year!

I'll try to capture these dogwoods once more before they are all gone.





These are both oil on linen, painted late October 2009 from life. The painting at the top is 5.25 wide X 5.75 high, and the one above is 5.75 wide x 5 high. Both are monogrammed JHA --no date visible. Will be sold as a set via Ebay Auctions.