#387 Smartsville #387

by William Lum

Title

#387 Smartsville #387

Artist

William Lum

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

Our plein air group made a trip to Smartsville, California with a population of 177 in Yuba County. It was not a good day for painting because the glare in the cloudy day eliminated shadows. The only store (and bathroom) in town was shut down and nearest place to eat was twenty miles away. The main feature of the town is the historical church which was covered in scaffolding and undergoing reconstruction. I took some reference photos and at home tried to guess at how the reconstruction will look like when finished. Additionally I cleaned up the debris, overgrown bushes and made the historic store more viewable in this made up painting. It’s what Smartsville could look like in a better light.

Here is more information about Smartsville. During the California Gold Rush, Smartsville was a small pioneer town where hydraulic—or placer—mining was extensively practiced. The first building established in the city was a hotel built by James Smart, a local hotel proprietor, in 1856. This piece of Gold Rush history remains intact to this day. In 1861, a Catholic church—the Church of Immaculate Conception—was erected. Although burned down in 1870, a new building took its place the following year and is still standing at Main and O’Brien streets today. The church remains one of the cities more prominent features, posing as a “faithful guardian” of Smartsville’s residents. Continuously operated as a Catholic Church until the 1970's, the building and grounds were deeded in 1998 to the Smartsville Church Restoration Fund Inc.

This 15” X 22” watercolor painting was done on Arches, 140 lb, rough paper.

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August 23rd, 2019

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