Miller Red Barn

I saw an intriguing sign in Gilroy the other day. It said “Save Miller Red Barn” and listed this facebook page. Coincidentally, I’ve been working on a design project on the history of the City of Gilroy, so I know quite a bit about this barn ( but I had no idea it still stood).

The barn probably belonged to Henry Miller, also known as the Cattle King, a man thought to have been the largest land owner and cattleman in the American West, perhaps the largest landowner in the entire nation in the 1850s. People in this town say a cowboy could ride from Mexico all the way to Canada without leaving the Cattle King’s lands.

The barn is large, impressive, a beautiful red and dangerously dilapidated. I got quite carried away with capturing all the texture.
Recording in steps really helps me look at my process. More often than not, I look back and find I should have stopped just a wee bit earlier than I did. With both these sketches, I really had fun with capturing all the texture, but it might have been a good idea to let a little more of the juicy watercolor wash show? The barn is, after all, a beautiful color, even in its dilapidated state. Here is a closeup of all that over-the-top texture:

And here is sketch#2, from the other side of the barn.
And a closer look at the finished piece.

I hope they raise the funds they need to save that barn, it’s an important part of Gilroy’s history.