"Our second son attended college in Delhi, New York for four years and the quickest way to take him back to college was to take the back roads. Over the years I passed this old barn many times. It always impressed me with its sway back roof line, its board and batting siding and the interesting angles of the barn's structure. I also was drawn to the little vents on it top. In the fall of 2003 I had a perfect day to photograph it: when the skies are deep blue and clear, the foliage has its most brilliant colors and the grasses have started to turn from greens to browns and ochers.

"Putting all these characteristics of October together I created this portrait of autumn. I did leave out an old road sign and the road as well as a run down old building up the road from the barn. The barn also had a long concrete wing on it to the left which looked a lot more modern than the barn and it took away the rustic qualities I liked so much in the barn.

"Using opaque watercolors (gouache) is always a pleasure as they can be used in a linear fashion and are perfect for capturing the variety of textures and colors that made up this particular scene."

Daniel K. Tennant