The Sticks

This is an 11"x14" watercolor painting of the old family home where my grandfather grew up in North Andover Massachusetts. It was commissioned by his sister, this is where she still lives to this day. The original house was built in the 1600's but was moved to this location sometime later. It was bought by my great grandfather in 1905 after he immigrated from Italy, at the time it was only the original saltbox portion, not much more than half of what it is today. 12 people lived in this house at the peak of it's population (the late 20's) when it served as the family farm and home to my grandfather and his 9 siblings. Most of the area around the house is now developed into suburban neighborhoods but even when I was a child as recently as 20 years ago there were still hay fields, none of which exist today. We affectionately call this place "The sticks". It is believed to be thought of by some children in nearby neighborhoods as a witch house.