Hartman’s Bakery is an original oil painting of a small town bakery. I painted this piece en plein air with a palette knife. This painting won third place in the plein air competition “Paint the Town in Fall Colors” in Plymouth, WI Fall of 2021. Before I started painting, I noticed how the bricks of the buildings had the color of champagne and brandy. I aimed for that effervescent energy in my painting choices. When the competition juror, James P. Neilson, made his remarks, he thought that the coloring of the buildings reminded him of sugar cookies and other baked goods. Well, it wasn’t exactly my original thought, but maybe even better! haha!

I went into Hartman’s Bakery after I finished this painting. All of the baked goods looked absolutely luscious! Unfortunately, my gluten-intolerance wouldn’t let me test anything out. But the juror mentioned that he tested out the baked goods and highly recommends!