A neighbor had a yard light that could be seen from far away. Its glow guided them to the barn to tend the horses in the early morning and late at night. I sometimes climbed out my bedroom window and stole across to their yard to watch the sparkling snowflakes that drifted down lazily in the cast light. I was mesmerized by them as one might be fascinated watching the flames lick at wood in a fireplace. Sometimes, when it was cold enough, the icy flakes would become tiny round mirrors that reflected the color of the barn and my mittens. I could raise my mittened hand on nights like this, and the flakes near it would turn bright red. Then they would go from pink to soft blue-violet as I slowly lowered my hand. When I would get too cold to enjoy the show, I would sneak into the barn to watch from a window. I'm sure they knew from the footprints that it was I who haunted their premises. If they did, they never gave away my secret. Thank you Bruce and Sue Roberts. What a delightful gift you gave me in that!
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.
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.
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. 
I love to watch birds chase one another and I love open spaces. This then is a composite of two of my favorite elements.
I thought it would be a nice change of pace to paint a few miniature landscapes of Michigan as I saw it in my childhood. I have three completed and will post them over the next few days. 
Can you think of a good title for a series of chessmen that includes a rook, knoght, bishop, and pawn? I dunno..."Support Staff"? I'm trying to go for a red glass look. I usually work from life, but I can't find red glass chessmen, and I felt compelled. I had to study the way light falls on tinted glass and then imagine my chess-pieces made of that. I'm a few days from completing the set of four. The other three are about as far along as this one. My original purpose for the border was to make it look like the chessmen were in shadow boxes, or that the images were framed. I haven't decided which way to go but keep watching.
I found this old rocking chair sitting out on the curb on trash day and rescued it. Then I stripped it down through six different colored layers of paint to the bare wood and gave it a new life. Now it sits proudly in my livingroom-studio and seems to be the first place visitors want to sit. Do you get the idea that I like checked patterns?
P.S. Look to your right and enter this month's Giveaway!
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