Snowy Creek near Maurice

Snowy Creek near Maurice| 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

It is the season of giving, so I think I'll give this painting away. All subscribers to the blog will automatically be entered in the drawing and if you make a comment on the painting (below), I'll throw your name in the hat a second time. It will double your chances!

This is a small creek one mile west and two miles south of town. Winter officially arrived today and it looks and feels like it too.

Another year has flown by. Thanks for taking the time to view my work and a special thanks to those of you who have written kind comments and sent e-mails. They mean a great deal to me.

Merry Christmas, and may you have a blessed new year.

I will do the drawing for the painting on December 31.

Last of Winter

Last of Winter | 6"x6" | oil on hardboard

Spring has finally arrived and while all but a few piles of snow are gone, the snow is still a not so distant memory. Right? So this is one final look at the winter landscape for another year. Farewell.

Cornstalks

Cornstalks | 6"x6" | oil on hardboard

This winter seems like it has had an abundance of gray days. Gray, snowy, overcast and frequently foggy. While a sunny day is almost always a welcome sight, I have developed an appreciation for the grayness of this kind of day. The whiteness of the snow combined with gray skies gives everything a gray muted tone. Even a bright red stop sign becomes muted on a gray winter day. I could imagine artist Andrew Wyeth painting a scene like this if he had lived in Iowa.

I was driving home from LeMars recently (on one of these gray days) when my eyes were drawn to these cornstalks in the field along the road. I returned later and shot some photos. I'm sure there were some other motorists who drove by thinking to themselves, "What is this kook doing shooting photos of an empty, snow-filled cornfield?"

I'm including another close-up so you can get a little closer look.


Cornstalks | detail

SOLD

Anne's Barn

Anne's Barn | 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

Anne Plageman is a talented artist friend of mine who lives on an acreage a few miles east of town. I'll occasionally drop in unannounced for a cup of coffee and some good conversation. A couple weeks ago I stopped and had a good visit with her and Mark.

A cup of coffee and a time to talk. Simple treasures. I based this on a shot I took as I left the yard that day. Her barn is abandoned and I suspect it is only a home for pigeons, swallows and perhaps a few rodents. I was drawn to the angular profile of the roof. Something about it that I like.

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