Autumn!

"Valley Autumn"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(Click on image for a larger view) 

 

I suddenly came to the realization that I haven't done a Studio blog in 8 or 9 weeks!  Yikes!

 

Well I have been blogging, just not for myself I guess.  And its Autumn!  Did it sneak up on you as well?  I did see it coming, it just doesn't seem like it should be here already.

 

I've been blogging for the 2014 Artisans Road Trip and getting ready for it as well!  It's coming up soon - just a couple more weeks and it'll be here!  This year the A.R.T. event is the 2nd weekend of October - that's Saturday October 11th (9AM-5PM) and Sunday October 12 (Noon-5PM)!  

 

The Artisans Road Trip has been running for 11 years now...the art studio tour is a great get-away or destination day trip, with even more to look forward to than just a fun fall drive through the countryside!

 

If you have time to get away during the weekend of the 11th and 12th, I hope you can make it out for great atmosphere, delicious treats, conversation and great scenery!

 

First time for the Artisans Road Trip?  Check out the web site at - 

http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/

 

Hope to see you then!

 

Fleeting Bales

"August Bale Study No.1"

oil pastel and pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

 

I always look forward to the hay bales in the valley here!  This year was very different - baling was late this summer here...usually done by the first week in July, it wasn't until the first week of August here this year.  A very positive note to this "wait" - there were far fewer ground nesting birds that suffered moralities due to early haying.

 

Each summer we have good numbers of Bobolinks, Sedge Wrens, Dickcissels, Meadowlarks, and other birds nesting in the pastures here.  All of these birds are grassland "obligates", meaning they require grassland habitat for their nesting and feeding - their survival. I do realize the "affect" on forage quality, the longer farmers wait to cut hay, but grassland bird populations have been dropping steadily in the past 2-3 decades and any break they can get is critical for their long term survival.

 

But as I've said many times in the past - I just love seeing bales out in the landscape.  There is something quite pleasing to the eye about hay bales randomly dropped here and there in a pasture setting...call it nostalgic or whatever, there is just something visually interesting about this transient introduction of geometric shapes into the environment.

 

I suspected that with this field work running behind schedule here, I needed to get out there as soon as they were done baling and get some images made for future reference!  Within 24 hours they were picked up and gone.  

 

I just did this small study in oil pastel and oil based pencils.  I think I'll be doing more as well, while the iron's hot...trying to prolong that nostalgia! 

 

August is here - enjoy it!

  

Ode to July

"Morning Beatitude"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

July...when I was much, much younger "July" meant the middle of summer vacation.  It meant there was a whole month "after this one" before school began again!  It was a month of wandering, like June and August, but there was something else about July; it was ephemeral...you lived it, breathed the essence of it, held it close and then it was gone.

 

June seemed like a dream when it arrived; summer was here!  We languished in the

thought of it, but as it gained momentum and you grasped the opportunity - it was finished.  We had "wised up" by July; it needed to be savored.

 

When August came, the sense of well being was shaken...summer's end was near.

 

Now that I am older, I pay more attention to the calendar. Summer is no longer finished in August - there's September to look forward to...its not until the equinox that the end is true.  But this old duffer still remembers saying goodbye to July all those years ago; its not over yet but I'll still wish it back.

 

I know its cheating, but stepping back and savoring a "time and place" in my paintings or, as in this case, my photographs - can be a nice respite.  I hope you enjoy "July" in my work.

Summer

"Anvil Across the Valley" - oil pastel on mounted canvas

© Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Its nearly mid July and I'm baffled where the time has gone; I do find myself in this position often, but its never any less frustrating!  Summer is a busy time - make daylight last this long and you're out there taking advantage of every minute, right?  Well, I guess you have to!

Our outdoor work now consists of bug hats and Deet.  All the rain we accumulated in June (14.95 inches) has bred the worst crop of mosquitoes I have seen in some time. The black flies (biting or Buffalo Gnats to some) are just as bad - they're the ones we really wear bug netting around for...I think Deet is like whipped cream to these little monsters! 

But that June rain has made things pop!  And the prairie pasture is very nice this July...this is another good year for Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepia tuberosa) and Compass Plants (Silphium laciniatum) are prominant in the "green" everywhere!  I haven't been able to do much photography work yet this summer though...between the windy days and "life", the opportunities have been limited.

I did set aside an evening "job" for myself though.  I'd been admiring the many "tops" of thunderheads off in the distance the past few weeks and got the itch to do something that's been in the back burner for some 3 years.  I photographed an amazing anviled thunderhead out acroiss the valley here back in 2011.  Back then I had more than one person ask if it were something I'd ever paint.  I thought not at the time but I'm backsliding now and decided to first do a small study in oil pastel and see if it showed promise.

The image above was just finished last night and I think I'm fairly pleased with the possibilities it shows.  It only shows about 60% as wide of a field of view as the original photo panorama does, and the landscape, color and sky are composed more to suit me, but I think it'll work for a larger painting down the road!  Let's see what I can cook up next  - summer's not going to wait around!

Take care and have a great one!

 

From the Tallgrass at the Neal Smith NWR

 

A familiar theme for a place with a "like-mind" - that's about as accurate of a description as I can give.  

I can't live enough years to outgrow or become bored with the tallgrass prairie, it is a subject I will probe and celebrate till I draw my last breath.  The Neal Smith NWR is dedicated to the tallgrass prairie as well.

Just 22 miles east of Des Moines, near Prairie City, Iowa, you'll find a truly unique refuge.  The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990, within the National Wildlife Refuge System, to "actively protect, restore, reconstruct and manage the diverse native ecosystems of tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and sedge meadow. These were the native habitats existing on the Refuge’s 5600 acres prior to Euro-American settlement."

The refuge approached me in 2012 to do an exhibit of artwork and photography depicting the tallgrass, and I accepted.  This solo exhibit, at their J.N. "Ding" Darling Art Gallery, will feature work on the prairie theme and genre.

The exhibit will open on July 1st in the afternoon, and will run through August 20th.  More information about the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, its hours and other contact information can be found online at - http://www.fws.gov/refuge/neal_smith

Its a great place to visit and I'm looking forward to it!  If you're passing by the area this summer, take a little time and stop for a visit, you will be glad you did!

Summer at Last

"Pre-solstice Evening Sky"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

The drought of the past 11-12 months has temporarily hit the wall and we are, of course, getting way more than we need all at once!  But I think the old adage "When it rains - it pours!" is about as aptly put as it could possibly be.  We've received 12 inches of rain for June so far here at Prairie Hill Farm, plus a little more wind than we care to ever have.

4 days back we got stuck in the rotating SW edge of a system and around 2-3 a.m. trees started breaking up and dropping in the yard.  So cleaning up is about all we've done for the past 4 days, but today is being "taken off" to recuperate some.  Not only did the trees get busted up, we did too...Georgie broke her wrist and I a torn ligament.  I'm doing much better while Georgie gets used to her cast...glad spring is past us now - hopefully summer will be kinder!!!

 "Bizarre Mammatus Formations and Barn"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Weather does create some visual opportunities though, I just don't care much for the messy ones!

Hope you have avoided the flooding and/or the severe storms the region has been experiencing!  Our hearts go out to those whom have lost their homes the past few days - especially in Nebraska, and certainly to those who were injured or lost loved ones.

It is summer at last and perhaps a change for the better!? We can certainly look forward to that - wishing you a very happy summer solstice!

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!