We just returned from a 7 day trip to North Dakota where we celebrated a milestone class reunion, visited with friends and relatives, rode ATVs, canoed, camped and still found time to get some serious painting in. I'll post some more once I've touched them up a bit, but for now, here's a sampling.
The grain elevator you see off in the distance is the only building in the hamlet of Catherine that is visible above the trees. It's a lovely little village in a beautiful river valley. The quiet was amazing! The only sounds were the breeze in the grasses and the chirping of birds. We saw a coyote, and several different hawks while scouting.
We came across the location for this painting the day before. At the time, the hills were dotted with cows. I love cow's structure and was really hoping they would make an appearance so I could paint them. It was beginning to look like they would not show, but just as we were about to lose our light, they came over the top of the hill and I got my chance. I actually like the painting better than if they had been more in the foreground thus becoming too much the focus of the painting.
