Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Bale Out


Bale Out| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

More round, er..uh...square bales.

I've never considered myself a landscape painter. My Grandfather was a painter of landscapes. He painted them almost exclusively. I'm not sure why they didn't become my passion, but I do enjoy painting them; especially at this small size.

Available for $100

Monday, July 20, 2009

Cake Walk


Cake Walk| 6"x6" | oil on hardboard

In honor of my 50th blog entry, I'm introducing a new square format. Almost all of the paintings on this blog thus far have been 5x7" but I now have prepared a bunch of 6x6" panels so you'll be seeing square pieces now too from time to time.

A few weeks ago we had our annual church picnic. If there is any event that is quintessentially small town, it is our church picnic. Many of our traditions and community celebrations have come and gone, but the Maurice church picnic remains, even after well over 100 years.

I like taking photos at the picnic and this year was another beautiful summer evening. They block off the street and do a kids carnival, including things like a football throw, face painting, fish pond and more. The cake walk is always a hit. Both of my boys won a cake this year so we had a nice supply of cake...for a few days. My sons like cake.

This scene captures the long shadows of late day sunlight. Something about the cutoff figure at the top center kinda completes the composition nicely. It brings the eye back around in a circular direction.

Below is a photo of those in attendance at the picnic this year. A big group for a small town. Click on it for a closer look.



Monday, July 13, 2009

Fields of Green


Fields of Green| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

It has been a week of rain and stormy weather here in Sioux County. Fields near town were flattened by 70mph winds and other areas suffered the wrath of golf ball to softball sized hail.

These are fields South of Maurice that escaped unscathed, and are benefiting from the generous amounts of rain. Remnants of rain clouds hang in the sky. I like how the purple shades in the clouds contrast with the lush shades of green.

We spent the weekend in Des Moines, and on the drive home Sunday I was again inspired by the beauty of our state. How it ever became stereotyped as flat I will never know. I guess compared to Colorado we're flat. But if you compare us to Nebraska...

Available for $100