Autumn Begins!

Yes, this evening at 10:09 pm (central time) is the Autumnal Equinox.  And I just learned it's also the Harvest Moon!  I think I remember the first full moon after fall begins is the harvest moon, and by coincidence the moon is full tonight - that hasn't happened in 19 years!  Pretty cool!

Well...we won't be seeing the moon tonight here because we're  having our last stormy day and night of the summer (remember it's still summer till after 10 pm tonight!).  We've been squeezed between some big boomers most of the afternoon...either slipping past us to the east or north.  Hearing that they've been dropping walnut sized hail and larger, we weren't disappointed to be missed! (knock on wood)

Addendum:  well we just got nearly an inch of rain and marble to quarter size hail...all in about 10 minutes...still "feels" like summer!

 "Rain Shaft"

2 1/2 X 3 1/2" (6.4 cm X 8.9 cm) miniature color pencil rendering © Bruce A. Morrison

(Click on image for larger than life size image) 

In honor of the last day of summer I've done a miniature piece entitled "Rain Shaft"   the piece is a color pencil on hot press paper and will be part of a few miniature pieces here for sale during the 2010 Artisans Road Trip coming a week from this Friday (Oct 1st, 2nd and 3rd).

I like doing these small miniatures but I also like doing pieces that can be a spring board for larger works down the road and I think "Rain Shaft" would lend itself wonderfully for an oil or larger color pencil rendering.  That's the way storms look from Prairie Hill Farm during the spring and summer - they can be quite impressive and larger than life!

Like to own your own original work?!  Hey, miniatures are in everyone's budget...and I throw in the easel to boot  :)

Stay safe in the storms and enjoy the fall to come!

Hope to see you here at the studio during A.R.T.!

Nearing the Equinox

 "Night Pasture - Great Horned Owl"

8X24" color pencil rendering - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for larger view)

Summer is just about a memory now.  I'm sure we'll still have plenty of nice days to come "hinting" at what we selectively remember fondly of the past season...but autumn is in the air and the Monarchs have left their roost here at Prairie Hill Farm (see "A Tallgrass Journal" blog) and are well on their way to Mexico!

We're still enjoying the invertebrates of this season though - minus the mosquitoes, black flies and the soon to come hoards of Asian Lady Bird Beetles.  It's a philosophical exercise in "justifying" those bugs that torment us!  But this is the season of goldenrods and asters...and there are still many butterflies, "friendly" wasps, bees, and spiders to see on the prairie!  

We've been enjoying the sounds of the season here very much.  Each night has been bringing the late summer insect serenades, the neighborhood Great Horned Owl has been hooting from the yard by the house around 3-4 a.m. each morning and the Coyotes in the valley have "sung" numerous times for us this month!

I'm going to share our Great Horned Owl, serenading insects and one lone (distant) Coyote calling for it's friends, with you.  I posted this audio snippet with friends on Face Book and I'll share it here on the Prairie Hill Farm blog too.  If you are an e-mail subscriber to this blog you'll need to visit the physical blog or my Studio Face Book page to view/listen!

"Night Noises" - © Bruce A. Morrison

Since Google's blogspot doesn't have a really easy way to post simple audio files, I'll share it as a video file.  The image used on the video is a small "detail" of the image posted at the beginning of this blog...one I shared about 3 years back on this very blog.  It is of the pasture across the road from us, depicted at night in late summer - a moon lit landscape with a Great Horned Owl passing through in flight...maybe (?) on it's way up to Prairie Hill Farm to spook a rabbit or skunk out of cover for it's dinner!

This artwork original sold at the Artisans Road Trip back in 2008 but I do have signed open edition prints of this work for sale at the 2010 A.R.T. event this year.  I also have many new works (photographs, drawings and paintings) this year and would love to share them with you at the 2010 Artisans Road Trip coming up in just 2 weeks!  We'll share a lot of mouth watering treats from Georgie's kitchen as well!

Why not go on a early autumn road trip the 1st, 2nd or 3rd of October and stop by the studio here at Prairie Hill Farm?!!!  Even take a walk through the late Tallgrass Prairie here too and enjoy that air we all remember in the fall!

Enjoy the "Night Sounds" audio video and stop in for some day time memories if you're in the neighborhood!!!