Beyond Then
Cow & crow in a field
60” x 82 1/4”
Oil on Canvas
The complicated balance between protecting natural habitats for wildlife while providing food, shelter and safety for human populations, is explored in this work. This large-scale oil painting combines poetic remembrances of the family farm, seasonal cultivation, native midwestern habitat species, iconic imagery and a surrealist sensibility.
In practicing how to make an idea come to life through paint, the visual choices in this work offer a combination of 19th and 20th century painting techniques gleaned from art history. Luminist light, impressionist tones, expressionist brushstrokes join symbolist and conceptual ideologies.
Seasonal references, such as the white moon and brilliant yellow sun bursts refer to planting, growing and harvest seasons, ubiquitous throughout human history. We are meant to be sympathetic with the animal, whose realistic eye and face turns towards us as curious cows will often do when humans approach.
In the Illinois landscapes surrounding Bloomington, crows and cows are familiar characters. The large crow symbol behind the cow is drawn as an obscured outline, its feathers becoming part of the cow’s headdress. Within the cowlick hides a protective angel-like image, quiet and illusive. Both creatures are painted in a slightly abstracted style to indicate that they represent something larger than the individual animals.
Our midwestern lives are profoundly impacted by skies, sunsets, rivers and fields. We share concerns and contemplations on the future of agriculture, family farms and our rural heritage as well as on the future of biodiversity and wildlife survival. There is no clear answer to the complicated issues of our short time on planet earth, but love, appreciation and respect for our mutual history can be of value to all, and can help us make wise choices. This painting celebrates history, memory, natural resources and this painter’s love of animals and natural history.
Cow & crow in a field
60” x 82 1/4”
Oil on Canvas
The complicated balance between protecting natural habitats for wildlife while providing food, shelter and safety for human populations, is explored in this work. This large-scale oil painting combines poetic remembrances of the family farm, seasonal cultivation, native midwestern habitat species, iconic imagery and a surrealist sensibility.
In practicing how to make an idea come to life through paint, the visual choices in this work offer a combination of 19th and 20th century painting techniques gleaned from art history. Luminist light, impressionist tones, expressionist brushstrokes join symbolist and conceptual ideologies.
Seasonal references, such as the white moon and brilliant yellow sun bursts refer to planting, growing and harvest seasons, ubiquitous throughout human history. We are meant to be sympathetic with the animal, whose realistic eye and face turns towards us as curious cows will often do when humans approach.
In the Illinois landscapes surrounding Bloomington, crows and cows are familiar characters. The large crow symbol behind the cow is drawn as an obscured outline, its feathers becoming part of the cow’s headdress. Within the cowlick hides a protective angel-like image, quiet and illusive. Both creatures are painted in a slightly abstracted style to indicate that they represent something larger than the individual animals.
Our midwestern lives are profoundly impacted by skies, sunsets, rivers and fields. We share concerns and contemplations on the future of agriculture, family farms and our rural heritage as well as on the future of biodiversity and wildlife survival. There is no clear answer to the complicated issues of our short time on planet earth, but love, appreciation and respect for our mutual history can be of value to all, and can help us make wise choices. This painting celebrates history, memory, natural resources and this painter’s love of animals and natural history.