ABINGDON, Va. — Ron Bayens became interested in painting because it was the one thing he could do better than his brother.
“I just liked to draw and paint, and by the time I was in the seventh grade, I got pretty good at it,” Bayens said.
These days, the established portrait artist for more than 30 years can be found painting in front of the Martha Washington Inn & Spa. He’s creating a large-scale oil painting of the historic structure in Abingdon.
His wife, Beth, said that as soon as her husband spotted the Martha Washington, he knew he had to paint it.
“We would drive by, and he would say, ‘I just got to paint it,’” she said Wednesday.
Weather permitting, Bayens will be on the inn’s front lawn for approximately an hour each day, starting around 6 p.m., until the painting is complete.
His painting is part of the William King Museum of Art’s “Art in Bloom” event and the town of Abingdon’s “Abingdon in Bloom” monthlong celebration.
Betsy White, director of the museum, said that Bayens brought the idea to her, and she sees it as another way to celebrate both events.
“It’s his way of promoting our event and our museum,” White said. “It is very generous of him to do this in connection with our event.”
White hopes that people will enjoy the painting and that it will bring new visitors to see what the museum has to offer.
Bayens is a resident artist with the museum, where he rents studio space to work on commissioned art pieces.
The plan is to finish the painting by the middle of next week and then auction it, with half of the proceeds going to the museum, he said.
As he paints, Bayens doesn’t focus on staying in the lines.
“It’s not fun when you stay in the lines,” he said. “I sort of wanted a vignette. … I wanted it to be a nice picture of a scene, not really a portrait of the Martha Washington.”
The inn is on the left side of the canvas with the inn’s lawn and cherry blossom trees making up the remainder. Bayens said he wants the painting to stay pretty messy; otherwise, it will “look like an architectural rendering or a theater backdrop.”
Bayens can also be seen working on the painting through his Facebook page, “Ronald Bayens Fine Portraits in Oil.” He is livestreaming it from beginning to end.
“I have a lot of students all over the country … so they can watch along and watch the painting grow,” he said. “People can either learn from me watching me paint or it can just be fun to watch me.”
When living in Alabama, Bayens taught privately for 15 years. In the fall, he hopes to begin teaching at the museum.
Bayens grew up in Canada. His wife, a lifelong resident of the area, said her husband is constantly blown away by the Virginia Creeper Trail, mountains and nature in the Abingdon area. The artist said he enjoys painting outside when he gets the chance.
If the Martha Washington painting is successful, Bayens said he will look into doing a series, eight to 10 large-scale paintings, around Abingdon.