I designed the painting around the hearth by taping tracing paper to the wall and just drawing to fill the space. Then I would add on another and continue the design. The swirls and scrolls grew, page by page. I would tape the pages together, then flip them and do the other side of the center.
The painting hanging to the right of the fireplace is Auction by Ken Stark. My late husband, Matt, bought it for me as a surprise, because I admired Stark’s paintings so much in a exhibit at Story Pottery in Mineral Point a few years back.
I couldn’t wait to bring this painting home from the Iowa County Courthouse, so I could hang it in my new kitchen. I rhapsodized to my daughter, “Doesn’t it look good in this room?” She replied, “That’s because it is this room, Mom.”