"Cornflower and Queen Anne's Lace" 6 1/8 x 1 1/2" oil on 3/4" hardboard. $45

I loved getting in the car. It almost always meant fishing or picking berries if Dad was driving. The trip there was as much a part of the adventure as the expidition itself. I know they're only weeds, but cornflowers and Queen Anne's lace were two of my favorite sights along the road. I grew up in that netherworld between "children are to be seen and not heard," and "children are smarter than adults." This meant that I practiced long stretches of contemplative silence punctuated by brief periods of excited chatter. Both enriched me. Had I spent all of my time engaged in chatter, I would have missed the simple beauty growing along the way. Had I no chance to speak, I would have missed the opportunity to ask about what I saw.

Edge of the Field 1 1/2 "x 6 1/8' oil on gessoed masonite

I've noticed a lot of artists lately using gessoed hardboard with a recess in the back so that they can be hung right away without a frame for a contemporary look. Perhaps one day I'll invest in the tools to make perfectly formed holes in the back of my paintings, but for now, a six dollar set of wood carving knives seemed to do the trick. In fact, I rather like the hand-hewn aspect. It is 1/2" thick, so it can stand alone on a shelf or tabletop. The image is continued on the sides, bottom, and top. This is another in the Rural Michigan series. As you can see, it is signed on both the front and back.

Sanctuary 3"x3" oil on masonite panel $45

This is quite a common scene in Michigan; one lone tree at the edge of a field, left there when the field was cleared. Farm lore has it that before the days of motorized tractors, farmers would purposely leave one shade tree somewhere along the perimeter or even smack in the middle. This way they would have shelter from the sun at midday when they stopped to eat and rest. The practice of resting under a tree at midday has fallen somewhat out of use, but the tradition of leaving a shade tree seems to have survived. Birds seem to love the arrangement. They can feed on the grain and shelter in the tree. Would that human life were so simple.