Let's hear it for "despairing desolation"

Here's an interesting photographic essay that appeared on the United Kingdom's Daily Mail entitled Rural bliss... or despairing desolation? As it turns out, this English newspaper was depicting photographs of our backyard, namely the Palouse region.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Palouse is a vast (about 3000 square miles), rolling, mostly treeless region that encompasses parts of eastern Washington and western Idaho. It's heavily agricultural, growing enormous amounts of wheat, lentils, and other dryland field crops. I had never heard of it until we moved to its borders, but now I'm enamored of it.

The photographer who took the shots featured in the Daily Mail article overlaid multiple photos and digitally manipulated the landscape to make it look as brooding and forbidden as possible. She terms it "abstract realism" and I suppose all artistic types like to tweak reality here and there... though why she would choose to depict such a beautiful area to look so forbidding is anyone's guess. (I urge you to go to the Daily Mail link to see her work.)

My gripe about this representation of the Palouse in such a far-away place as the U.K. is that it gives the people of that fine nation a misunderstanding of the true nature of our region. In reality, the Palouse is beautiful. Absolutely breathtaking. I suppose to those used to crowded urban areas, the vast rolling treeless hills could be considered "despairing desolation," but it's captured the attention of many, many renowned artists and photographers. Go into any local bookstore and there's usually a section devoted to photographic essays of the Palouse, depicting its beauty.

In fact one of my favorite local artists, Andy Sewell, has partially built his career by taking artistic advantage of the Palouse. Of his many fine paintings, this is one of my favorites. I've seen the original photo on which this painting is based, and believe me, there's no exaggeration. It's that beautiful. (Some of his other paintings can be seen here.)

Ironically the Daily Mail did feature some nice photographs of the Palouse a couple of months ago. I must say I prefer these photographic depictions over the other "despairing and desolate" ones.

Or maybe I shouldn't praise the Palouse too highly. I guess those grim and despairing photos might help keep tourism down and keep our corner of the world quiet and undiscovered.

Another calf plus some visitors

We invited some visitors for dinner last night -- none other than Andy Sewell and his wife and son. Andy Sewell is the artist who painted the rooster picture King of the Mountain.

He very much wanted to see our quartet of little heifers, so they came over for dinner.

Meanwhile we had a nice surprise for them: our cow Raven had her calf down in the field yesterday. I noticed her just after noon, way off by herself. This is normal behavior when a cow is about to give birth, so I went to investigate.

Raven had already dropped her calf.

In fact, the baby was almost dry.

She had just passed the afterbirth as I arrived and was in the process of eating it. This is very typical behavior for ruminants -- it lessens the scent of birth from potential predators.

Since all was well, we left Raven alone with her new baby. We'd learn the gender later.

A few hours later, the Sewell family arrived, and Andy promptly start photographing the livestock. He said he often films scenes, then chooses the best freeze frame to paint.

We walked out to see Raven and the new baby.

Boy? Girl? Couldn't tell yet.

It wasn't until the calf stood up that I saw the little scrotum. Aha! It's a boy!

My what a sweetie. How does Chester sound for a name?

Andy took all kinds of pictures, shading his eyes against the bright evening sun.

Chester is so photogenic!

He took photos of the other critters as well.

Leto meets some Very Big Horses.

We had a delightful visit with the Sewells and hope to have them over again. And I got my own copy of King of the Mountain!

King of the compost pile

A few months ago, in mid-March, I took this photo of our white rooster on top the compost pile.

Well, the neatest thing happened. A regional artist by the name of Andy Sewell saw the photo and asked permission to paint it. I sent him the high-resolution version, and this morning he sent back this!

This is just too cool for words!!!!

I've been an admirer of Mr. Sewell's work since 2003 and we moved to Idaho, when I first saw his landscapes. I'm honored beyond belief that he chose to use one of my photos to paint.

He named the painting "King of the Mountain." The rooster is actually king of the compost pile, but that's not nearly as catchy a title. It did, however, inspire a name for this formerly-nameless rooster: King.

Mr. Sewell is selling prints of the painting here, or even the original if you're interested.

Interviewing an artist

As some of you may know, I write a monthly article for The Crafts Report Magazine, a really cool-beans publication. One of the advantages of this gig is every so often I get to take a field trip to interview a regional artist.

Last Monday I did just that, traveling south to the little burg of Viola to talk with an astoundingly talented artist by the name of Andy Sewell.

I've seen this gentleman's art for years, pretty much since we first arrived in Idaho in 2003. What caught my eye was his paintings of the Palouse, the hilly and largely treeless terrain that defines our corner of the west. It is an unspeakably beautiful landscape, and Andy's paintings captures that beauty.

So I drove down to meet and talk with him. Even in drear winter weather, the vistas on the Palouse are fabulous.

Andy has a handsome little gallery tucked beside the highway.

It's here that he offers classes, displays his paintings, and works on new creations.

It was pretty amazing, looking around at his work.

I have all the artistic skills of a first-grader, so talent like this always floors me.

On the left is oil, on the right is watercolor.

He paints oils on a vertical canvas, but watercolors flat on a table. Yes, that's a real canvas.

Of his many different themes, it's the landscapes I enjoy the most...

...though I'll admit the florals are pretty spiffy too (especially when the glass isn't reflecting the background).

He also branched out into mugs, a practical way to enjoy his art.

Altogether it was a very enjoyable way to get to know an artist of amazing caliber.

A remarkable artist

I wanted to note a particular artist at the Moscow Renaissance Faire. His name is Andy Sewell and I first saw his artwork (specializing in paintings of the Palouse region) shortly after we moved to Idaho nearly eight years ago.

This fellow and his wife work hard to market his artwork. We see his booth set up at many regional events, and he's one of those noteworthy artists who isn't a parasite on society by taking government money to pursue his muse.

I know this for a fact because I spoke to him in a brief phone interview last year as the basis for a WorldNetDaily column on the subject.

Here's the small print I bought last year.


He has so many beautiful landscapes that it's hard to choose only one. This is understandably one of his best-known paintings.

It staggers the mind how much talent people can possess.

You might visit his website and see what other glories are on canvas.

It's small but beautiful

A few weeks ago at the Moscow Renaissance Faire, I purchased a small print by the artist Andy Sewell. Isn't it gorgeous?