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 »
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 »
Marybeth Heikes recently received an Honors Award in the annual Midwest National Abstract Exhibition in Indianapolis. She received a cash/ribbon award for her watercolor painting, Engine Series #5, part of her series of train engines. The juror, Paige Williams, commented on the piece: “The lushness of contrasting color and variation of edges creates a compelling push/pull spatial quality. […] more »
I am enthralled with the old buildings found in rural Iowa. The photo I used as a reference was taken many years ago, so who knows if this view is changed! It was a beautiful, sunny day with the cerulean sky color I love. I also like the water tower peeking from behind the red […] more »