Looking East – Blue Sky Day

$ 600.00

Mixed Media on Barnwood

(bas relief)

11″ x 41″

$600

See below to read about my inspiration for this work.

Description

Across the Little Red Deer Road from our farm was a rape seed field. It slowly turned from blackened soil as the snow melted in spring to the haze of lime green as the seeds started to peek through the earth. It turned to abundant greens as the days progressed and then became a magesty of bright yellows and golds at the end of the summer….

Across the road from the farm I grew up on was a big vast field. When I was still quite small there was a small area that was never harvested, there was some rotting buildings and farm things there. I never went to investigate but I found out recently that my little sister and brother did. I hate that I missed out on that.

I also found out that that spot in the field was the location our family originally homesteaded at in the Little Red Deer District west, of Innisfail. My Great Great Grandfather, Moses Wildman, homesteaded there with his family. His daughter, Estella Wildman, would marry that farmer, my great grandfather, James (Jim) Scarlett. who homesteaded across the road… where my Grandpa and Dad and I grew up.

As a teen I would go for bike rides and runs on the road that separated our farm from the field and during the summer there was always loads of pollinators there. The field was usually growing rape seed and boy did it stink! Do you remember how strong that smell was??? I will often paint an image I call “Honey Field”, it is often from memories of the field.

At the end of the lane of the farm, you could look north and see just the rise of this field, there was nothing else but sky to see. In the spring there would be the slow build of a green field and in the summer, it would turn to bright yellow. The fall would turn everything to the rich harvest gold and winter would fill the field with snow.

Every turn in the country gives us a new experience. I remember Dad used to tell me his favourite thing to do was to go out into the fields and admire the land.

[]