From the Window

     

        Here is another piece from Thanksgiving. After all, that is one of the goals of this spot- to get more current drawings out there for “all you all” to see! This one is again from our trip to Minnesota in November. This one had lots of potential for different lighting depending on the time of day and the cloud cover, but this is as it was when I started the drawing. I was a little disappointed that it did not convey the bleakness that I had sensed when I first noticed the scene, but I guess it still conveys some of the impact of the moment at which it first caught my eye. A pencil, a paper, a hand and and eye, and an artist should never be without entertainment! With a little observation a person can learn a lot and convey something new.

The Pilings

       Here is another piece from a recent trip. The manure pile in back of everything is waiting for the spreader. Maybe for the garden... Spring is coming. Well, with the weather we are having it is hard to remember it is winter now!

The Clearing

        The old 2 story farm house has company; a newer “rancher” has been built down to the west. The simple barn has no activity behind to wear the grass or to need an honest fence. The old clearing may soon be dotted with cedar. No one has talked yet of clearing out the 2 story- but it may be just a matter of time. The original folk have left some time back. Everything in this drawing is moving downhill to the north except the clouds; they are rolling south. After a dreary morning it was good to see them go. The sky was clearing; the sun was bringing some cheer to the scene. The doldrums are leaving the artist. 

Shell

        The thing kicked around in the flower patch by the front door for awhile when the kids were younger. At some point it migrated inside. There it became a subject of this drawing. It had suffered a hard life. The thing was a good 5-6 inches long. It looks here like it is still sitting in the corner by the porch in the setting sun. This drawing is probably 25 years old or so. Not much here but dark and light - and hopefully some emotion. How can something as simple as a beat up old conch stir emotion? Ask Vermeer... 

        Don't forget to take a look at the new Thumbnail.    

Bald Cedar

     The storms of the Gulf of Mexico produced in years past many of what were called Bald Cypress- Cypress trees with the tops torn off by hurricane winds. Some of those mammoths were 10-15 feet in diameter. This drawing shows us the Kansas version. Cedar trees that have suffered a similar fate from Kansas storms, whether tornado, or something less violent. There do seem to be a number of these old wizened specimens though maybe not the size of the ancient trees. Cedar trees, especially early on seem to lean with the prevailing winds, or leaning up hill all seem to be headed to the same ridge. There are millions of younger cedar taking over abandoned pastures as small acreages are left untended. But it is the older ones stuck along the creek draw, or on the silent farmyard itself that have survived the blows of many a spring storm. Though they have lost their crown and may never be as tall again, they do not give up spreading and thickening up. They give a sturdy image.

      This house along 24 Highway heading east from the Tee Pee is now gone. Glad I got this one done before it was downed. Though I do think the trees may still stand.

      There are some recent additions to the Thumbnails page you may want to see.

      Also there is a NEW page – the Kids Korner – where you can get a little encouragement to get the kids drawing...