My drawing of a single cloud floating over the North Dakota Badlands received a little more attention tonight. It’s a good thing the sky is so simple, because the hill is very complex.

Cloud over the Badlands
My drawing of a single cloud floating over the North Dakota Badlands received a little more attention tonight. It’s a good thing the sky is so simple, because the hill is very complex.

Cloud over the Badlands
Ah, summer in the North Dakota Badlands. I worked on the foreground of my drawing of the Little Missouri National Grasslands this afternoon. Nice to deal with a landscape that isn’t white, white, white everywhere you look.

Summer in the Badlands
I refined the clouds a bit more in my drawing “Early May” this morning.

Early May
Well, one week from today, on Valentine’s Day, there will be a public reception for my “DAKOTA PRAIRIE HOME” exhibit at Bowman Regional Public Library. Please stop by from 2 to 4 p.m. for refreshments and to see my latest body of work. It should be a colorful display, with ten of my “Equus” drawings, nine of my newest landscapes, my first sunflower drawing, and ten of my recent cottonwood photographs. This show will be at the library through March, so you will have ample opportunity to check it out. Thanks again to Bowman Regional Public Library and the Prairie Rose Art Association for the opportunity to share my art with the community.

“DAKOTA PRAIRIE HOME” Exhibit Brochure


There’s nothing like working on and thinking about a summer day while you’re in the middle of a very wintry winter. I developed the right foreground of my “Summer in the Badlands” drawing this afternoon.

Summer in the Badlands
We had another day of frosty trees, along with a new dusting of snow. I went back to the cottonwoods to capture some vertical compositions, which I think are quite dramatic. It wasn’t nearly as cold today, so I could take more time and enjoy the wintry scene. I’ll post a batch of them when I can.

I worked on the Little Missouri again this morning, deepening the blue of the upper river, adding touches of orange and green to the banks, and making the upper left corner a little darker.

The Little Mo
Well, I switched over from a frosty cottonwood theme to a hot, spicy sunflower composition this evening. Good to have some variety going this time of year. I’ve pretty much worked over the right side of this drawing, so now a few more petals on the left, and the center of the flower will require some further attention.

Sunflower Composition
I went over to photograph the cottonwoods in the morning as well as the afternoon yesterday. My fingers could only take so much of the cold before I had to head back indoors. I was pleased to get so many workable images in spite of the hurried approach.

Cottonwood Composition XXIII

Cottonwood Composition XXIV

Cottonwood Composition XXV

Cottonwood Composition XXVI

Cottonwood Composition XXVII

Cottonwood Composition XXVIII

Cottonwood Composition XXIX

Cottonwood Composition XXX

Cottonwood Composition XXXI

Cottonwood Composition XXXII

Cottonwood Composition XXXIII

Cottonwood Composition XXXIV

Cottonwood Composition XXXV

Cottonwood Composition XXXVI

Cottonwood Composition XXVII

Cottonwood Composition XXXVIII

Cottonwood Composition XXXIX

Cottonwood Composition XL
There was a light frost and an overcast sky yesterday, which inspired me to go back over to the cottonwoods for more compositions. I really liked the way the filters worked with these weather conditions, and wanted to have more images to use for greeting cards, prints, or whatever.


Cottonwood Composition XIV

Cottonwood Composition XV

Cottonwood Composition XVI

Cottonwood Composition XVII

Cottonwood Composition XVIII

Cottonwood Composition XIX

Cottonwood Composition XX

Cottonwood Composition XXI

Cottonwood Composition XXII
I have some more images to share with you, but they will be in the next post. Hope you enjoy the wintry beauty.