My inspiration for this collage was my love of the shapes of the different buildings in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. I was attracted to the colors and details of this familiar and popular establishment. more »
This is a special design combining the bicycle amid the downtown buildings on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. more »
Chickens galore! This collage is one I completed as a Daily Painting exercise. Most of my artwork are larger sizes, so I thought it would be fun to do a small and simple piece. It is also great to be able to use some of my collage paper scraps. I have about twelve bags sorted […] more »
Lately I have been working on a variety of Iowa-themed work in preparation of my joint exhibition next year with Deb Baughman, to be held at Indian Hills College in Ottumwa. This collage is a design of an old grain elevator in Chariton, Iowa. The structure was interesting with its many jutting pieces stacked on […] more »
It all started back in 1985, when a customer told me about a cool barn to see and possibly do a painting of it. So I grabbed my Minolta camera, the old film kind, and took off. The adventure led to traveling down many southern Iowa country roads without a plan or map — just […] more »
This painting began with numerous sketches and photographs. The angular, rusty shapes attracted my attention and I found myself searching out these old industrial areas. Centerville has a lot of interesting places to paint. I completed a full-size sketch of this to begin with, seeking out big, abstract shapes and value patterns. I find this […] more »
This rooster acrylic collage is one of the many I have done with an Iowa animal theme. I usually begin doing a loose contour drawing and do not concern myself with a perfect, detailed drawing of the subject matter. I want the linear design to be lyrical and expressive. The background element was unknown at […] more »
I am continuing my Iowa barn series with this old structure with rustic barn boards, ragged roof, cupelo and windmill. It is very characteristic of Midwestern life, but largely disappearing from the landscape. This one is still standing, at least it was the last time I traveled in that direction. more »
These old structures are fascinating and almost completely disappeared from the countryside where we live. This one is gone, but I used a photo taken years ago. The gaps in the roof and uneven barn boards have interesting abstract designs which attracted me in the first place. I used artistic license with the color — […] more »
This is a row of spotted Holstein dairy cows — I love the black and white patterns of them. I decided on painting the plain background first, in a neutral color so it wouldn’t conflict with the positive shapes of the cows. Pieces of an Iowa map are the foreground, sprinkled with some tulips. Lastly, […] more »