A Circus

"Grumpy Hummer"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Its been a regular circus around here lately....a circus because of how busy and preoccupied we've been.  But also because of the critters.

Love this male Ruby-throated Hummingbird from a couple days back - just a great expression!

And yesterday I was working in the studio and noticed out the window that I was being robbed in broad daylight!  Good grief, what's this world coming to?!!

"Masked Bandit"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

OK, so it was just a Raccoon, but geeze...I'd been putting all the hanging bird feeders away at night so I guess they decided to hit us during daylight when we'd least expect it!

Later in the evening yesterday I heard a familiar sound and hoped I was wrong but ya...we had a lost baby looking for momma.

"Where's Momma?!"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

The noise I was hearing was a bleating White-tailed Deer fawn.  This has happened before and I was holding my breath that this little guy's mother would find it again.  Some mowing had been taking place in a field just to our northwest and I'm thinking this fawn was in there and ran out from the disturbance...also there was a lot of field spraying going on just down the road from us, and a lot of vehicle noise and traffic on this normally quiet road.

But so far so good, we haven't been paid another visit yet nor have we been hearing any commotion, so maybe things are all good once again.

The rest of the circus for the month has been the process of putting together 56 pieces of work for the Neal Smith NWR down by Prairie City, east of Des Moines for July and August!  Man it takes a lot of time getting work put together, framed, printed, labeled, and you name it!  This solo exhibit is "prairie themed" and owns the same title as my last solo exibit in 2012 - "From the Tallgrass"...it is not a repeat of that same show however, so more work to get it ready!

Also I am in a new exhibit down in Storm Lake, Iowa right now - the 2014 Artisans Road Trip is having an exhibit at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake.  This show began last week on June 5th and runs through June 27th.  Be sure and stop in to see the show (either one!) if you have time!

Back to the circus!

 

 

Late Spring

 "Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)" - photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

Spring is nearing its end and the work is mounting here! I am always pulled in many directions at this time of the year; need to get out and photograph the landscape, need to stay in and finish artwork on the easel, need to pick up work from a closing exhibit and take work to a new one, need to get work framed for customers, get new prints processed and hung in the studio...even finish patching the barn roof! The list goes on; like all of us - too much to do after that long winter and wet/cold spring!
 

The photograph above is part of another exhibit I'm participating in at the moment. This new art exhibit is at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, Iowa and runs through most of the month of June.
 

This exhibit is the first Artisans Road Trip showing for the 2013 season - the tenth year of the Artisans Road Trip in NW Iowa! You may recognize the A.R.T. open studio tour held each fall during the first weekend in October; the Artisans Road Trip also puts on exhibits during the year with current artist members and the Witter Gallery showing is the first of the 2013 A.R.T. season!

I have 4 pieces in the exhibit - 3 photographs and 1 oil pastel. But there is so much more to see as well. There will be an artist's reception Thursday - June 13th, from 5 - 7p.m. Hope to see you there!

"June Morning Music" - Nature Audio - © Bruce A. Morrison

Here's a playful respite for all of you out there under the pressure of work that is never quite finished or caught up. The Image above is from the house here and our kitchen home entry and garden...it is from a color pencil drawing done a year or so ago. I have used it here as artwork to go with some of nature's music here on the acreage.
 

I do occasional video and audio work for my own use and for some natural resources client projects on contract. This short "get away" is just for myself and my friends. Just click HERE or on the image above and listen to late spring out on the prairie. Enjoy!  

Hope you enjoy the rest of spring!

Summer's Fading

"Stream-side Cottonwood"

color pencil drawing - 6X8"

© Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Cottonwoods are a prairie tree...a stream-side tree...a tree of wet or dry places, a real opportunist. As a stream-side tree, Beaver love it, its a favorite for Herons - its a great rookery tree.  They'll grow very tall and gain great girth in a fairly short time, and that's perfect for rookeries like the one just SE of the acreage studio here.

I've climbed many cottonwoods as a kid...they're perfect before they gain too much girth because by then they've tended to loose their lower branches - those you need to grab onto in order to gain some height and get to those more easily handled perches. Besides, a fat tree is nearly impossible to hitch up unless you're a woodpecker or squirrel!  I spent many a summer afternoon 40-50 feet up in a cottonwood, seated on a big horizontal branch, gazing out into the river or creek valley below...occasionally something would land nearby and be startled by the sight of me!  This was a great perch for watching Red-tail Hawks and Turkey Vultures soaring in the sky; like a "head-start" to their level.  What memories!  And I've fallen out of 'em too...but lets not go there!

The piece shown above is a small color pencil drawing I just finished.  It, like a myriad of others, is of the creek in the valley below the studio here (Waterman Creek)...I'm beginning to suspect that no other person has painted, drawn or photographed this creek more than I have!??  I could be wrong but I don't know?  Anyway I'll keep walking and exploring it and all the other area creeks and rivers I possibly can

The Cottonwood tree on the other bank was my focal point, I just loved the structure of the tree, but the sun was lighting it frontally (not an easy or preferred way to portray something) so I threw the left foreground into a "bit" of shadow to help with the composition and to give a transition to step into...the creek helps conceptually and compositionally too of course.

I like these small color drawings, they're fun to do but are not always cooperative!  

I'm trying to get ready for the 2012 Artisans Road Trip now!  Well, I've been trying all summer but now I'm down to "crunch time"  and I'm afraid I'll be glued to the studio from now until October 6 and 7 when the event takes place.  This is the ninth consecutive year of the Artisans Road Trip and it should be a great weekend!  Set the days aside if you can.  If you haven't taken one in during years past, or have yet to have visited the studio here along the valley - check the dates off on your calendar!!!

The summer is fading - take advantage of it while you can, and enjoy yourself!

The Real Fun of It!

 "September Morning on the Waterman"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

I'm going to do something I haven't done before now - post the same blog 3 times!  I do 2 blogs for the Artisans Road Trip and I think I want to say the same thing for my own studio blog as well.

Thank you to everyone who took in the 2011 Artisans Road Trip weekend on 9/30/11 through 10/2/11! It was a win-win for everyone out there! The "road trippers" had a very nice weekend of things to do and see, and the artists received some support for their efforts, got to meet new people and had fun showing off their wares and works!

And I'm no exception - I really enjoy showing off the studio here along the Waterman Creek valley south of B40.  Its a beautiful scenic location and so many new visitors are very surprised its here and they never knew about it!  That's the real fun of A.R.T.!

That's the case with all facets and artists of A.R.T. - there's a pleasant surprise around every corner!  Unique studios and galleries, one of a kind works and memorable travels around our beautiful corner of the state!

Thank you for supporting the Arts in NW Iowa!

Way Back When

"Cattle Crossing"

color pencil drawing  © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Way back when I was a kid, I used to spend a great deal of time walking the farm country west of our town where I grew up in NW Iowa.  I had (still have) a good friend whose family had a large farming operation and a good herd of what I believe were Angus cattle back then.  Well maybe they were Limosins or some other breed of predominately black cows, I don't know, but I got quite used to walking their paths and occasionally walking through the herds.  

Lately I've been walking several places in the "neighborhood", and really the only kind of surroundings I care to traverse are pasture and woodland, but mostly the river and creek bottoms...great place for an interesting stroll with the cameras. 

One thing about cows, they seem to know the best stream crossings, and I usually trust them.  Some time back I was walking along with a scattered herd, along Waterman Creek near here; it was a wonderful little stretch of stream mostly uninterrupted by fence lines.  While taking photographs along the creek bottom I noticed this great old Ash tree casting shade along a sandy bar in the bend of the creek.  It was early morning and the cast shadow and early sunlight were making for a really nice image.

I don't always think "photograph" when shooting scenes like this...I often get an idea or feeling for the scene and just go with it.  Later when I'm back in the studio processing files on the computer, the image itself decides whether or not something "stays" as a photograph or gets used as material to do a painting or drawing from.

As you can see, I ended up doing a small color pencil drawing of the "Cattle Crossing" there along the creek...and yes, I did cross there :)

There isn't much time for anything but studio work here right now - the 2011 Artisans Road Trip is coming up fast!!!   I do hope you'll set aside the weekend of September 30 (Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), and October 1st and 2nd (Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)!  It should be a beautiful weekend and we're really looking forward to it!

Hope to see you here at the studio!!!

 

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!!!

Dry Spell?

August mornings are full of dew covered webs
(click on images for a larger view)

We haven't had rain for almost 2 weeks now!  I'm voicing this as a positive thing, mind you; it is so nice to have a reprieve from constant rain this summer.  One thing it has brought to the region is lush landscapes and record crops though - an amazing change from our normal dry and browning late summer settings.

I'm experiencing a short dry spell in the studio too, was planning on getting some more painting time in but have had several personal and business issues get in the way.  I came to the realization just a couple days ago that I only have 6 weeks to prepare for the Artisans Road Trip on October 1-3! Holy smokes where did the summer go!??! 

The Stiff Goldenrods(Solidago rigida) are bowing over with blossoms 

and the weight of pollinators (Monarchs in this case)!

Well, it (summer) hasn't disappeared yet but it is rocketing toward fall now...what we're seeing on the prairie remnant pasture here is now in the late liatris, prairie onion, goldenrod and sunflower stage.  I had to spend a couple hours in the pasture yesterday clearing the fire break/paths.  The rain has grown monster goldenrods and sunflowers and they've all toppled over each other and onto the paths making mowing impossible.  I had to cut stalks and volunteer trees (we get a lot of mulberry, elm and locust volunteers in the pasture), and wade through a gazillion butterflies, flies, bees and wasps in a feeding frenzy on the blossoms...and mosquitoes on me!

I'm settling in to the studio as best I can to pick up the momentum here now.  But I'm going to have a tough time tearing myself away from the prairie outside the door ...maybe I'll get a chance or two to sneak in a painting yet this summer?!

It Begins!

We've had some very needed rain start yesterday...in fact we got more rain yesterday here than we got during the entire months of August and September put together! And we received less than 2 inches. Prairie Hill Farm seems to be drier than surrounding areas...at least to us! We've had one good year of moisture in the last seven we've been here; we're usually on the dry side.

Don't let the rain dis way you from taking in the Artisans Road Trip today and this weekend though! These are studio and gallery artists "inside"! Dry and warm!! We're going to have hot apple cider here in the studio in case you need to warm your bones!

There's a lot to see on A.R.T. whether you're out here on the remnants of the prairie or up at Iowa's Great Lakes or down in Storm Lake. Take it in! And support the Arts at A.R.T.!!

Looking Back (and other stuff)

"Spring Bobolink"

Oil on canvas - 6X8"

Things are really getting busy and crunch time is near with the Artisans Road Trip nipping at our heals. The A.R.T. starts this coming Friday afternoon (October 2nd) at 3 p.m. and runs through Sunday...9 a.m. - 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

We had an opening at Arts On Grand in Spencer last week with the A.R.T. artists participating with pieces of their work, this exhibit will run through October...Georgie and I had a fun time seeing samples of what others have at their studios!

I tried doing another small painting this past week and finally finished...it's a study of a Bobolink. I haven't painted a bird in such a very long time that I was actually feeling a little trepidation while trying to work through it. I hate getting rusty at things, especially those things I like.

Bobolinks aren't really "in season" right now, but I'm looking back at a bird we really enjoy here at Prairie Hill Farm and on the prairie elsewhere. Bobolinks are "grassland obligates", or birds that depend on grasslands as habitat...they need grasslands (or prairie) for nesting and forage.

Bobolinks are also a rather curious case each summer. They arrive around late March/early April, nest, raise a brood and leave. Well maybe that sounds typical of other birds? Well, sort of - but they leave each summer around July 4th...then they spend the rest of the summer traveling in small flocks like nomads, wandering from place to place with no apparent pattern. They're pretty hard to find after the first part of July, so I always miss them through the rest of the summer. My father calls them the "Spink, Spank, Spink" bird. He said he remembers them from his early years growing up on the farm back in the 30's. There would have been more pasture and grasslands back then so I don't doubt he was familiar with them. Spink, spank, spink might be a common translation of their song, but I'd say they do an extremely good rendition of R2D2 from the Star Wars movies! Seriously.

Bobolinks are also a hard bird to paint! They are very black birds...black colored birds are not easy to portray because...well...they're lacking in color. Bobolinks do have some white in their wings and their rump and a light yellow "skull cap" marking, so they can be broken up with these accents but the study I did had one back lit form the side and its a sunny setting so the contrast makes it challenging.

This study has been on the back burner for a few years...I'd really like to incorporate it into a larger piece some day but thought I'd better try it on for size before I lose the memory of it!

I apologize if it registers too dark on your computer monitor...I've actually tried bring the contrast and density range down a hair on my monitor so it would look more like the original does from under the lights I paint with in the studio.

We've been (or I should say Georgie has been) working hard to keep up with the raspberry crop here at the farm. Georgie's been keeping records of the harvest and, unless a hard freeze comes soon, we'll go way past last year's yield of 330 pints! We're almost there today and there's at least a hundred more pint potential on the canes if we can squeeze a couple more weeks out without hard frost. Last year at A.R.T., we actually let studio visitors pick their own...like raspberries?!

Hope to see you at Artisans Road Trip!

Summer Still

September Dawn, Little Sioux River
Oil on mounted canvas - 6X8"
Sold

This morning was a nice replay of many mornings this summer, particularly this month. A nice morning haze or low lying fog along the valleys and streams. It is something I like to try and chase on occasion, for the effect it plays upon the landscape.

I did a painting today and the fog on the Little Sioux River was fleeting, it was gone when the work began, but there was a very light transparent veil over the water as the sun burned through the trees upstream.

This was a difficult effect I've never tried to tackle before and very transient. The inception of the piece was begun on site and the painting finished here in the studio. I tried a smaller canvas in hopes I could do justice to the fleeting impression I had of the river at dawn...but even so it is something I'd like to try more of in the future.

I don't know if I can get in any more painting before the Artisans Road Trip in two weeks, but I'll try if possible. My to-do list for A.R.T. is getting longer!

5 days till summer's end!

Signs Ahead

It felt like summer again yesterday, humid and warm. In nine days we'll have the autumnal equinox upon us and summer will be something we just think back on or ahead to.

Yesterday my oldest grand daughter, Cassie, and I were out scouting around for images. We found Garter Snakes and Red-tailed Hawks (got HD video footage of each)...Turkey Vultures and Wild Turkeys. But one place we frequent had a definitive sign of what was ahead. A saturated hillside of sumac with a couple bales tossed in meant Autumn to me. A pleasing splash of color.

The bean fields all around us are a glorious yellow; they'll only call out for a week or so yet and I should be taking advantage of them, but for now this splash of scarlet has won me over.

For splashes of color and inspiration "here and there", don't forget to explore the Artisans Road Trip (http://www.artisansroadtrip.com) coming up in just 3 weeks! It's October 2, 3 and 4th. You can start here at Prairie Hill Farm Studio if you like...be sure to stop by and say "Hi"!

Exploring The River

Leaving Ranney Knob - Little Sioux River
Oil on mounted canvas - 9X12"

A week ago last Saturday I spent some time down on the Little Sioux River in the morning. I was taking pictures and video taping the first annual Prairie Heritage Center's Inkpaduta Canoe Race. It started a bit foggy but turned into a beautiful day. Race participants seemed to have had a great time too.

I scouted around a bit for picture ideas and think I may have some nice things tucked away for this winter or some other studio time...or revisit for plein air. Today though I took time to paint the Little Sioux River at Ranney Knob...a park Georgie and I first visited in Cherokee County a few weeks ago in mid summer. I revisited the river in the studio today...I liked the material I had from this summer and wanted to strike while the iron was hot. I hate mulling things over too long...the embers in my mind go cold and that's that.

The pressure is on around here and I'm scrambling to get things ready for the upcoming Artisans Road Trip up here in NW Iowa. I hope if you have any time during the first weekend in October free, that you'll stop in and say hello!

Have a great last 3 weeks of Summer!

OK, It's Back!

Verbena hastata at Stiles Woodland Preserve, Cherokee County

OK...summer's back for sure now! Dewpoints in the 70's and temps in the 90's (thankfully not higher!). I'll admit right here that I'm not real fond of high heat and humidity, but I got real lucky this summer with a couple month reprieve so I'm not going to complain (just melt).

Georgie and I spent the afternoon and evening yesterday doing more NW Iowa Watchable Wildlife work, visiting areas in Cherokee and Buena Vista counties south of us here at Prairie Hill Farm. We really found some pretty nice locations and I'm wishing it'd be possible to revisit some of these places more often!

One place I was really taken with wasn't one of our assigned locations - Stiles Woodland Preserve. It's identified as a preserve under the ownership of a group called "Friends of Conservation", and is an area of heavy woodland bordered by lowland/wetland and prairie remnant. It would be a great place to bird and we were serenaded by Eastern Towhees singing "Drink your tea!" all the while we were along the remnant hillside and meadow area. I didn't do any video taping in this area but did record the bird's phrases for a short bit...I'll have to add it to my website audio page when I can manage the time.

"Bull's Eye, Bison"

I'm to the crunch stage with a lot of things right now...it's just 8 weeks till the Artisans Road Trip the 2, 3, 4 of October and am in two exhibits at the moment also. "Horizontal Grandeur 2009" at the Stevens County Historical Museum in Morris, Minnesota...this exhibit runs clear through the end of October. I have a couple pieces in this show, one of which, shown above, is of a Bison Bull up close and personal.

Morning Web, Cayler Prairie, Dickinson County, Iowa

I also have many pieces (Giclees) at the Grimes Farm Nature Center near Marshalltown, Iowa for a solo exhibit through the end of September.

The Artisans Road Trip also has a sample exhibit going at the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa. Be sure and take in any shows in your area - support your local artists!!!