This majestic barn sits on a slight slope that makes its way down to a small river and grist mill.
How many times this fall have I seen geese heading south for the winter! Sometimes the "honking" is so loud I believe they must be landing in my yard somewhere.
I don't usually paint in a series but I've got geese on my mind after seeing so many still here for the winter. They are a beautiful bird when in the sky flying overhead in that gigantic V and bigger than you think when on the ground and you're up close.
I thought all geese flew to warmer weather during the late fall months to avoid the cold and snow but I've seen quite a few different geese and swans around here this winter.
Wouldn't it be nice if summer were here and the grass was green and the sun warm overhead? This painting is about as close as we are going to get for a few more months. The size of this painting is a lot larger than what I have been finishing lately, it is actually 13x21 unframed, which is large enough for me to complete in a couple of days. 
This is a typical scene that you might see as you drive down any rural road in southern Iowa. A farm had need of many barns or "sheds"; hog shed, chicken coup, calf shed, grainery, amoung many others. The farthest rolling hill in the background is a corn field ready for the combine to harvest the grain.
We took our grandson to a local pumpkin patch and there I discovered this lovely home and all these flowers. The flower beds had taken over everthing and were bursting from their bounderies and spilling out into the walks. SOLD 
Several years ago when I dropped off my daughter at a friends home I parked the car in the driveway looking right at this barn and silo. I had my sketch pad with me and quickly scketched this scene but did not take any pictures for a color reference. This painting medium is my special egg tempera mix. The finished painting has a rich, thicker texture than water color and dries with a nice glossly look. 
The brown building in this yard seemed quite out of place being too close to the house and closer to the road than it should be. But the only thing it could be was an outhouse! 
This is a painting that I gave to my son Nathan and his wife Heather. It is a representation of the farmstead we lived in Michigan when my four children were young.
This painting came out just as I had hoped. The sky and the snow in the foreground set the mood for this lonely house on Lorie Road. It had sat vacant for so many years that the paint was beginning to peal and wood trim was falling off. Today it looks well taken care of by its new owners.
Several years ago my wife and I spent some time in the Amish country of Indiana eating at Amish dinners and visiting some farms. I did a lot of sketching and took many photo's as we drove around the countryside. This painting reflects the family involvement in farm life as the viewer looks past the porch to the barns. 
The farm of the famous writer Carl Sandburg is located forty minutes from my home and is a beautiful drive into the Blue Ridge Mountains. While we visited this pasts spring I took several photo's and sketches and have painted the barns in several different scenes. 
While touring Heny Ford's Greenfield Village in Michigan this restored brick house couldn't be passed up.
It was a challenge to seperate the trees in the background and distinguish one from the next. There was so much green in the painting that I almost scrapped the whole thing. My daughter Jessica may recognize this barn as it's not too far from her house. Thank's Jess for mentioning my blog in your blog www.thecoons.blogspot.com today, your topic (Alex) is way more interesting than what I've got going here.