Three Sisters' Playhouse

I was outside looking for something to sketch when this interesting cottage caught my eye. A lovely girl came over, looked at what I was painting, and generously shared this story about her grandfather with me.
A carpenter by trade during the depression, while waiting for work and wanting to keep his skills honed, built this amazing life-sized playhouse to delight his three daughters! This was not your typical playhouse, it had a full kitchen and bath, fireplace and screened-in porch! The custom weathervane on the top of the roof shows his girls skipping together wearing dresses of the time period. It looks like the exterior is stucco and there are round archways in the interior from what I could tell by the photos I took.
Unfortunately, it was built on a bog and has started to sink, so it is not structurally safe to play in anymore.
I loved the architecture and found it challenging to paint. When I heard this story from the granddaughter, I knew there was a reason I was there, and felt I had to preserve this memory.
Art can be about documenting history, places and events. But this was also about a father’s love for his daughters and the memories they must have shared together because he created this for them. Those memories will last forever.
Starting with a watercolor sketch and making notes, I also took about 20 photos showing different angles to incorporate into what is now a 24" x 18" oil painting on linen of this dream playhouse.