American Goathic

Having just gotten back from the "Orcas Retrospectives" opening at the Orcas Center, I feel inspired to share a little more about my muse for the piece that I entered into this community art show. The Orcas Center Visual Arts Committee hosts a differently themed show each month. When I saw the "Orcas Retrospective" theme I knew it was an opportunity to pay h0mage to one of my favorite structures on the island.

The Hambly Apple House (lovingly referred to in my head as the "Apple Barn") was built by William Hambly in 1900. Fruit production was a huge part of the San Juan Islands’ economy from the 1890s through the 1920s, and the Apple House was designed to keep apples cool before being shipped to the mainland. The barn underwent a huge restoration in the 90's, and remains structurally sound, ready to weather the next century.

As I've started painting scenes of Orcas Island agriculture, the Apple Barn has made its way into quite a few paintings. This piece was my very first wool painting of the farm, and you can see the Apple Barn made a cameo.

A year or so later my skills were improving, and the Apple Barn continued to make appearances.

Now that I'm pals with Bill Perry, who owns the barn, I have been able to see the barn up close, inside and out. I've walked in circles around it, taking photo after photo for future reference. There's just something about that deep red siding and the stone foundation.

But let's jump to another muse... the one that, for me, upstages all the others time and time again. Of course anyone who knows me will know what i speak of -- goats! I'm pretty sure that word has gotten out among the herd that I'm a sucker for a goat portrait, because I am 100% certain the goats pose for me.

For example: I walked out of the goat dairy after milking one morning to find Ziggy and her two kids stationed perfectly just outside the door. They stoicly held this position while I frantically grabbed my phone and started photographing. When they seemed satisfied with my documentation they ambled away.

I'm serious. I just walked outside and they were doing this directly across from the door.

I just needed to wait for the right block of time and a good deadline to get me moving on this scene. What I saw in my mind's eye, though, was that apple barn.

When composing larger paintings, I often use Photoshop to rough in different ideas for composition. I cut and paste from different reference photos till it feels right. The computer nerd in me enjoys this part immensely.

Above are two examples of Photoshop roughs. I really wanted the Apple Barn to play a more detailed role in the painting -- I love the windows, and the wagon wheel rim. But alas, the goats wouldn't have it and required all of the attention.

Now that I had the composition, the next step was to wet felt the background of the painting. I used the grid method to help me get the general layout correctly.

As you can see, I made a conscious choice to do art instead of mow my lawn.

I used pre-felt (a sheet of partially felted wool), drew in the grid with the help of the fancy rotary cutting mat I'd just scored at Goodwill, and started placing the roving to create the background.

The wet-felting method uses soap and water to press and then rub the wool fibers together to form a solid piece. It would have been great to have more process photos, but I got sucked into the fun of the project and forgot all about documentation. Which I took as a good sign.

(For my Felting Friends: I'm using Prefelt and Merino from Living Felt, as well as their cute little blending carders, though if I remembered where I'd put my larger ones I'd have used those instead).

I don't use glue -- it's just in the photo because I clearly like clutter

Above is the wet felting result. What I have is the roughed-in gist of the piece. From there I needle felted many more layers of wool to tighten up the composition and add details such as the orchard in the background and the many different yummy colors of the siding.

After getting the background to a satisfying level, it was time for the goats! I've been experimenting with adhesive backed fabric stabilizer. It's usually meant for embroidery projects, as it is an easy way to attach the design to fabric and then use as a template for stitching. There was enough detail in these goats that I printed out my line drawing onto the stabilizer and attached it to the painting.

I needle-felted the roving right on top of the stabilizer. It is water soluable, so once I g0t enough of the detail in I just (bravely) held the painting under the tap and the stabilizer dissolved away. From there it was layer upon layer of bits of wool and also allowing for the drawing to change a little as the goats personalities shined through. The photo below shows a little of the process. The photo on the left is after I washed off the stabilizer. The one on the right is when the painting was finished.

And here is the final piece. It is a culmination of all the methods I've been experimenting with, and I feel quite proud of it.

American Goathic, Mandy Troxel, May 2025

In a nod to one of my favorite Americana paintings, I titled this work "American Goathic". I even tried to hide a pitchfork somewhere in the painting, but I couldn't make the design work. I got the piece scanned and will have prints and cards available... reach out if you're interested (and also if you're wondering about purchasing the original).

So in the end, the Apple Barn didn't quite make the starring role in this painting. But I am absolutely sure that she will keep appearing in many paintings to come, and when the time is right, take center stage away from the goats!

Farmer Perry and I enjoying the Apple Barn view.

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Before the colonization of North America, the San Juan Archipelago and the surrounding area were inhabited by Coast Salish Peoples, primarily the Lummi and Samish Nations. While this painting highlights island agriculture at the turn of the 20th century, I feel compelled to acknowledge that the Lummi and Salish peoples lived in partnership with the land and sea for thousands of years before.