This series of oil paintings is inspired from growing up in a rural environment. When I have had occasion to go back to visit my hometown so much has changed as industry faltered, population declined and time has taken its toll. Much seems to have faded away, virtually unnoticed. The physical reminders in old, tired, and occasionally abandoned buildings, houses and farmsteads remain. I recall many of these places from my childhood, remembering people and faces, the experiences and activities from a once vital era.
In Ohio's countryside I've found remnants of those simpler, more vital times and they serve as inspiration, as well as reference, for many of my paintings. However, one can find rural settings from many of the states I have lived in, or traveled through, depicted in this collection.
My paintings often incorporate older structures in the design. More than likely the original owner was filled with a sense of pride from ownership, even if the building was considered utilitarian, functioning as a business operation, barn or outbuilding. Many stories of humanity certainly lie behind the patina of time often in neglect or abandonment. Hopes and dreams may have slowly withered and died in the same manner as those structures. Yet surely many lives have moved on and prospered, maybe not always in the monetary sense, but with ethics learned from the trust of family and friends, and plain hard work.
These paintings often elicit vivid memories for viewers and collectors who reminisce of past experiences in similar settings. Occasionally a bit of history or a story behind a certain place or building emerges. After completing a painting of a small family-owned farm store near where I grew up, I sent out an email to a group of friends from high school in an effort to recall the name of this long ago shuttered business. Not all of the responses contained the name but instead diverse and often poignant recollections of an event or person associated with this little market. One response in particular did provide the market's name, but it went on to detail memories of the owner's handicapped son who worked at the store after classes throughout high school and weekends. Although the son's whereabouts now are unknown, my friend said the painting gave him hope that life has been good to the son.
