I’m a big fan of residential architecture – houses both modern and old if they are designed well and true to their purpose and age. This weekend I ended up in Roswell on Saturday in an older neighborhood that borders Vickery Creek to th
e east and Roswell Rd. to the West and include the textile mill and workers apartments. I found two wonderful restored Southern style clap board homes along Sloan Street. I’d say both date from the late 1800’s and are just few of many tucked into this charming area. I like the southern vernacular design of these homes and and enjoyed catching the sun glinting off the sides and the deep shade of the covered porches. The first I call Roswell Grey is a small hipped roof single story, the other, Sloan Street Beauty is a colonial style 2 story with a wonderful stone wall and garden in front.
Both are very near the Founder’s Cemetery, the resting place for many of the original families of Roswell. A large obelisk marks the grave of Roswell King and many of the Bullochs and Dunwoodys are buried here also. Interestingly the same graveyard was used for the slaves and mill workers who toiled and died here. It’s small and peaceful plot that local historical society keeps well maintained. I found the epitaph from the Roswell King grave on a web site called the Women will howl
Roswell King
May 3, 1765 to Feb. 15, 1844
A man of great energy, industry and perseverance
of rigid integrity, truth and justice.
He early earned and long enjoyed the esteem
and confidence of his fellow men.
This site has a lot of interesting historical information about the surrounding area and the unfortunate plight of the textile workers who were sent north to squalled refugee camps in what can only be described as a heartless decision by General Sherman.
These two 9 x11″ paintings are on a medium weave linen mounted on boards, about 20 or so that I made up last week. I’m a do-it-yourself kind of guy and these panels ended up costing me about $5 apiece as apposed to $12-20 each when bought in stores ( if you can find them) I have done this a few times and recommend it to all who regularly plein air paint. It’s a huge savings and a superior surface for painting. I used luan 
mahogany plywood cut with my skill saw into panels and glue the linen down with Miracle Muck adhesive— great stuff. I prime the linen first with 3 coats of rabbit skin glue. The texture of the medium weave gives these paintings a soft feel and contribute to the hazy hot atmosphere they portray. Summer is here and outside painting is not as comfortable as it was but If you find some shade and keep hydrated the strong light will reward you with dense shadows and colorful long sunsets.