Residency Notes

January, 2006
Weir Farm Trust Residency in Wilton, Connecticut
www.weirfarmtrust.org

American impressionist painter, J. Alden Weir, bought the beautiful New England property known as Weir Farm in the 1900's for a painting plus $10. He lived with his family and painted on the farm for the rest of his life, welcoming many prominent fellow artists to work on his property, including Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, and John Twachtman.

The farm has been preserved almost intact, and is one of only two National Parks devoted to art (the other being St. Gaudens in New Hampshire). It is run jointly by the National Park Service and the Weir Farm Trust, which hosts artists to enjoy the inspired setting. Only one artist at a time is selected for a residency; mine was two weeks long.

I lived in the former cottage of the farm manager and his family. In the lovely attic studio, I produced eight cityscape collages in gouache on Bristol board, which I am now translating, along with ten more done before and since the residency, into oils on panel. Below is a preview; high-quality digital images will be forthcoming on the website.














(left)
Julia Hensley
Cranium's Coffee
Gouache on Bristol Board collage, 2006
5" x 6"

(right)
Julia Hensley
Cranium's Coffee
Oil on Panel, 2006
9" x 7 1/2"