Stark Midwest

I call this painting "Stark Midwest". It depicts the region I call home during the early breath of spring, before the fields yield to the plow of agriculture. This particular spot seized my attention as I paused my car one day, drawn by the captivating isolation that permeated the surroundings.

What I saw evoke a profound sense of abandonment and solitude, resembling relics from a scene extracted from a post-apocalyptic narrative. The mighty tree adjacent to these structures, though imposing, stands suspended in a state of lifelessness, assuming the role of a sentinel entrusted with the forgotten buildings. Its presence is a testament to resilience, preserving these forsaken structures from the grasp of oblivion.

In the background, a thin veneer of ice clings delicately to the branches, and a hint of water languidly gathers in the field. This early phase of spring unfolds with the promise of renewal, as select trees tentatively unfurl their nascent foliage, a subtle reminder of the cyclical rhythms of nature.

I captured countless photographs of this poignant scene, translating its raw emotion into the strokes and hues of my painting. Grateful that I seized the fleeting moment in time, I was able to immortalize this tableau. Subsequent journeys down the same road reveal an altered landscape, the buildings dismantled, the once-potent tree now felled, and a heap of refuse standing as the lone testament to an era when these structures thrived and were nurtured by human care.