From Sperryville Cemetery – Sunset, Saturday, 29 September 2012

William Van Doren, FROM SPERRYVILLE CEMETERY. Sunset from Sperryville, Rappahannock County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

It can be difficult to see the sunset from Sperryville itself, because it’s right next to the Blue Ridge. So I drove a mile or so east to the cemetery, up on a little rise. The crowd there was a lot quieter than the one at the opening for the fantastic show of new work by Mike Fitts at Haley Fine Art.

Somewhere in Rappahannock (Sunset, Sunday, 20 November 2011)

William Van Doren, SOMEWHERE IN RAPPAHANNOCK (Sunset from Rt. 211 between Flint Hill and Sperryville, Rappahannock County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

I love small, “local” mountains, and none more than those of Rappahannock County, Virginia. This loose impression, after driving through at sunset between Flint Hill and Sperryville, doesn’t begin to do the place justice, but I hope I can have more chances in the future.

Sunset, Saturday, 16 January 2010

William Theodore Van Doren. Old Rag from Obannons Mill Road, Rappahannock County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 16 x 20.

This is my second sunset that included a view of Old Rag; the other, back on June 21st, was from farther east and south, at Locust Dale. This perspective is near a house we’ve been hoping to be able to buy ... still working on it. Painting Old Rag every day – that’d be a drag, right?