An Old Queen by Marian Fortunati

Queen Anne Shadows © Marian Fortunati 10" x 8" Oil On RayMar Canvas Panel

Early Teaching Career
When I first started teaching many years ago I used to teach in Echo Park.  Nowadays we think of Echo Park as PART of downtown Los Angeles but in the early days of the city, it was a "hot" suburb where all the "in" people wanted to move.  There were many beautiful examples of early architecture.   My favorite houses were in part of Echo Park known as Angelino Heights.  I used to take my kids on walking and sketching trips to a street called Carroll Avenue which was full of beautiful Victorians.   It was there too, that I first learned about Queen Anne Cottages.

Here is some history from Wikipedia about Echo Park:
At the end of the 19th century, when the hills were still covered with native plants and grasses, a horse-drawn streetcar line served the dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue.  The community of Echo Park was founded by Thomas Kelly, a carriage maker turned real estate developer. In the late 1880s Kelly teamed up with a group of local investors, selling off pieces of what they called "the Montana Tract." Legend says that the lake got its name after workers building the reservoir remarked that their voices echoed off the canyon walls.  Echo Park was named Edendale before the construction of the park itself. 
The Los Angeles film industry was centered in Echo Park before the studios moved to Hollywood, just before World War I. Mack Sennett's studio was in Echo Park until the end of the silent era, and a large number of silent comedies were shot in the neighborhood, as were several Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Our Gang, Ben Turpin, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Charley Chase, Chester Conklin, and Three Stooges shorts. Tom Mix also built his studio just over the hill in the Silverlake area, and many Westerns were shot in hills of Echo Park, East Silverlake and the Elysian Hills. Some of the earliest screen performers, including Gloria Swanson and Tom Mix, bought homes in the Angelino Heights and surrounding neighborhoods before moving to Hollywood and other areas.

Victorians In San Fernando
When I saw this house while driving around the city of San Fernando, I immediately began to remember my days in Echo Park.  The sun was shining on the front of the house casting dark shadows inside the porch.  I decided it would be fun to try to paint this lovely old Queen Anne Cottage but I wanted to emphasize the shadows.  I hope you like it.

This old queen is the last of my house portraits for the upcoming show called "Rediscovering San Fernando at 100".   I've also completed two figurative paintings for the show and am looking forward to delivering them on Sunday.   The reception will be from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. on January 22, 2011 at La Galeria Gitana in San Fernando, California.