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“Mourning Light”, 24x24, acrylic, © 2021, Lelia Canter.

Mourning Light depicts the loft area of the late 1800s historical barn once owned by Dolph Robinson and Hughie Ray on Hamburg Road in the Beech Glenn Township of Madison Co. North Carolina.
Historically the barn housed livestock and burley tobacco. The painting depicts mourning doves resting peacefully within the shelter of the old barn on an early Spring morning.

In folklore and mythology of various cultures, doves represented peace of the deepest kind, soothing and quieting our worried or troubled thoughts, enabling us to find renewal in the silence of the mind. They were often thought to be messengers of angels bringing loving messages from deceased loved ones.

Similarly, old barns can impart a quietness and since of calm and protection that can bring peace to those that venture to explore and appreciate these old shelters of the past.

The mourning dove is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina turtledove. Most mourning doves mate for life and their name imparts their mournful-sounding call.
Information on the Dolph Robinson barn’s history was gathered from The Appalachian Barn Alliance Documentation Project on The Barns of Madison County.
www.appalachianbarns.org

Original and limited edition prints available.
Contact Lelia Canter for pricing.