"Morning Frost in Iowa"

"Morning Frost in Iowa"

Des Moines, Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

The sun was shining on the frost covered countryside.

Everything looked like it was made of glass. 

This is along the highway heading east.

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"Iowa State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument"

"Iowa State Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument"

Capitol Complex

Des Moines, Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

The Monument is on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol complex.

Carl Rohl Smith, of Denmark, executed the statues and reliefs

 on this monument 1890-1892 after sketches by Harriet Ketcham.

The monument is 135 feet tall with a statue of "Victory" at the top.

The base includes equestrian statues of Generals Crocker, Corse, Curtis, and Dodge.

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"Iowa State Capitol Law Library"

"Iowa State Capitol Law Library"

Des Moines, Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

This is one of the most beautiful and awesome libraries I have ever visited.

There are five stories of books accessed via at least four spiral staircases.

They still have the original books brought by the territorial governor to start the library.

The library is still used every day. 

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"Iowa Supreme Court Chamber"

"Iowa Supreme Court Chamber"

Des Moines, Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

That is Katie in the background.  

The Chamber is stunning. The judges' bench is carved mahogany.

The Iowa Supreme Court no longer meets here.  They have moved to the Judicial Building of the Capitol complex.  The chamber is now utilized as a committee room for the House of Representatives. 

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"The Iowa State Capitol"

"The Iowa State Capitol"

Des Moines, Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

What a remarkable building!  The state capitol building 

in Des Moines houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, 

the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor,

Treasurer, and Secretary of State. 

The building also includes a chamber for the Iowa Supreme Court, 

although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Iowa Supreme Court building. 

The building was constructed between 1871 and 1886, and is the only five-domed capitol in the country. (wikipedia)

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"Farms and Wind Farms Together", Iowa

"Farms and Wind Farms Together"

Western Iowa

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

I was thrilled to see both kinds of farms together.

We were traveling east in Iowa, heading towards Des Moines.

The countryside is beautiful and not nearly as flat as expected.

"Welcome to Iowa"

"Welcome to Iowa"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

It seems appropriate to tackle an Iowa painting a week before the Iowa caucus.

This is the week after Thanksgiving.  The snow was falling.

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Porter Sculpture Park, SD

"Porter Sculpture Park"

Montrose, South Dakota

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

Huge horned head, Giant hammer???

This is the strangest thing along the highway in South Dakota.

It is visible for many miles.

Below is a photo of the park from further west.

The Sculpture Park has a web site.  It looks pretty cool.  

I will definitely stop next time I travel cross country.

http://portersculpturepark.com/

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Crossing the Missouri River in South Dakota

"Crossing the Missouri River"

South Dakota

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

Here was my view out the passenger side of the car.  

 You can see the water edge is frozen. 

Oacoma is on the western bank of the river.

The far side is Chamberlain, SD.

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"Badlands in Snow"

"The Badlands in Snow"

South Dakota

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

It was snowing so hard we couldn't stop at the Badlands National Park.

Here is a little sample of what the edge of it looks like.

I tried to get a snapshot from the car.  

We will have to return in the summer to see all the sights.

This is my reference photo for the painting above. 

We love those Wall Drug signs!

I must say there was very little traffic on the interstate.

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"Free Water and Five Cent Coffee"

"Free Water and Five Cent Coffee"

Wall Drug, South Dakota

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

Here we are at Wall Drug for our free ice water and five cent coffee. 

We each got a donut and that brought the cost of our snack to about $3.00.

The donuts are pretty good.  Plain cake donuts that are made on the premises. 

It is the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the snow is piling up outside. 

The restaurant seats 520 people.  We were the only two people there.

"Five Cent Coffee !"

"Five Cent Coffee"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

Get 5 cent coffee at Wall Drug in Wall, SD.  

Don't forget they also have free ice water.

There are many many billboards leading to Wall, South Dakota.

I remember the Wall Drug signs from heading west years ago.  

Each one is unique and campy. 

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"Quiet Crossing in South Dakota"

"Quiet Crossing in South Dakota"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

We drove east from Broadus, MT.  

We passed through the northeast corner of Wyoming and into South Dakota. 

 It was snowing heavily when we spotted the deer crossing the highway.

They were in no hurry and the last one seemed to linger on the road.  

Luckily the traffic was extremely light.
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"Downtown Broadus, Montana"

"Downtown Broadus, Montana"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

I love an outpost covered with antlers with a blue horse out front.

This was in the downtown.  Broadus is the "Wavingest" town in the World.

The place was wonderful and rustic.  Too bad, we didn't have time to go inside.

We were trying to get to Spearfish before a big snow storm hit.

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"Nearing Broadus" Montana

"Nearing Broadus", Montana

Near the Powder River

Glenn Gay Ranch

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

We are approaching Broadus Montana.  

This view was along the road as we neared town and a paved road.

I liked the shapes of the distant hills. 

"Snowy Cattle" Powder River, MT

"Snowy Cattle" 

Near the Powder River, Montana

Glenn Gay Ranch

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

We are leaving the ranch now in a snow storm.  It is only 45 minutes to a paved road. 

There were cattle, deer, and rabbits sharing the road with us. 

We are finally heading back home to Pennsylvania.

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"Sharp-tail Quail"

"Sharp-tail Quail"

Glenn Gay Ranch, Powder River, MT

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

We saw lots of 'Sharpies' on our tour of the ranch. 

This one was ride next to the road.  

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The Bachelor's Half Cabin

"The Bachelor's Half Cabin"

Glenn Gay Ranch, Powder River, MT

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

This half cabin was built by a bachelor who planned on finishing it when his bride arrived.

Apparently something went wrong. The bride-to-be never moved in and the house was never completed.

"Sleeping Hillside", Gay Ranch, MT

"Sleeping Hillside"

Glenn Gay Ranch,  Powder River,  Montana

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

This hillside is a short distance from the ranch house.  

I think it has a face. What do you think?
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Above is a photo of the face.  It looks like he's sleeping.

(Or maybe I just have a big imagination.)

"Out the Back Door", Glenn Gay Ranch, MT

"Out the Back Door"

Gay Ranch, Powder River, MT

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x8" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Pentallic Aqua Journal

I painted this standing by the back door of the ranch house.
It was 11 degrees Fahrenheit outside. BRRRR!

It is in my favorite Pentallic Aqua Journal.

"Waking Up at a Powder River Ranch" Montana

"Waking Up at the Ranch"

Powder River Montana

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

This is the Glenn Gay ranch on the Powder River in southeastern Montana.

It was a beautiful clear morning.  The temperature was in the single digits.

We were nice and warm inside with a fire in the stove. 

We drove the last hour on unpaved roads to get here in the dark. 

This is my first glimpse of the ranch.

Thank you Art and Deb for bringing us along.
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Warm Welcome at Little Bighorn, Montana

"Warm Welcome at Little Bighorn"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

The Battlefield was not open, but we could see the monument in the distance.

We may have been too late in the day, but this is the day after Thanksgiving.

There was a beautiful sunset.  

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Sunset Near Little Bighorn

"Sunset Near Little Bighorn", Montana

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

The sun was setting when we got close to the Little Bighorn Monument.  

The sky was really orange to the west.  It was lavender to the east. 

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"Eastern Montana"

"Eastern Montana"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

This is somewhere between Billings and Hardin Montana.

The mountains are changing into badlands.  

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"Mountain Aspens"

"Mountain Aspens" Montana

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

Love to see the light on the aspen trees in Montana.

The shadows are getting longer and we have hours to go 

before arriving at the ranch outside of Broadus, Montana.

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"East of Bozeman" Montana

"East of Bozeman, Montana"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

The day after Thanksgiving, Katie and I followed 

my brother-in-law and his wife to a ranch on the Powder River.

This watercolor is from photographs I took along the way. 

It was a five hour drive.  The last hour and a half was on unpaved roads. 

This image is not far from Bozeman along the interstate. 

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Katie Walking Maggie, Bozeman MT

"Katie Walking Maggie", Bozeman Montana

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

7"x5" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

 I went for a walk with Katie and Maggie after Thanksgiving dinner. 

In spite of the beautiful sunshine,  it was so cold we only went a few blocks. 

So much for walking off all the calories. 

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Snowy Montana Highway

"Snowy Montana Highway"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Arches Bright white

There were some patches of snow on the highway as we went through this pass.  

We missed a snow squall here because we were cleaning off the windshield.

It was very cold causing windshield washer fluid line to freeze. :(

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"On the Way to Bozeman Montana"

"On the Way to Bozeman"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Fabriano Artistico

This is east of Missoula MT and still west of Butte.

The sun was setting and the shadows were stretching across the land.

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"Clark Fork River", Missoula Montana

"Clark Fork River"

Montana Thanksgiving 2015

5"x7" original watercolor

140 lbs. cold pressed paper

Fabriano Artistico

This is from the South Higgins Avenue bridge above Brennen's Wave.  

It was very cold out and snow had fallen the day before.  

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"East of Missoula"

"East of Missoula"

5"x7" Original watercolor 

on 140lb. cold pressed extra white

Fabriano Artistico

We travelled to Montana this past Thanksgiving.

This little painting is on the way out of Missoula to Bozeman.  

It was the first time I have been this far away from Pennsylvania for the holiday.

I hope to complete 30 paintings in 30 days this January.  Most of them will be from the trip.

Happy Painting 2016 to all!

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