//---------BARNS---------- var westwindranch = '

This Virginia barn just \'had\' to be drawn. With the breathtaking mountain range in the distance and the unique log barn. The textures are so rich!

'; var ohiobarn = '

The ornate shutters and the vines growing on the barn and silo make this huge barn a wonderful target to draw.

'; var tennesseebarn = '

Barns in Tennessee age to a beautiful dark brown due to the type of wood and hot and humid summers. This creates a beautiful contrast to the lightly drawn foliage in the background.

'; var beforethestorm2 = '

This scene has been recreated for numerous occasions. This is used as my signature piece as well as on the cover of my book \"Drawing Made Easy: Beautiful Landscapes\". In this version, you will see it is void of the path and farm equipment, leaving the focus on the barn. The first version was dedicated to my father-in-law, John Wright, who lost the battle against cancer a few years ago.

'; var daltonbarn = '

Virginia has so many beautiful barns and it seems that every homestead has an old barn on it. Each has their own unique character. This frontal view offered an abstract feel to the composition and the rich shadows lures the viewer to peak inside the barn.

'; var classic = '

This barn is located just west of Winterset, Iowa.

'; var decorah = '

One cold, snowy day in January, my husband and I found this barn tucked in the midst of some trees. We had to drive a couple of miles to try and figure out how to get to it. Ended up we drove down a lane that was no more than a pasture path!

'; decorah+= '

This barn is located just west of Decorah, Iowa.

'; var elkader = '

Iowa Highway 13 is known as the Scenic Byway. Throughout the beautiful rolling hills of NE Iowa, old barns speckle the landscape.

'; elkader+= '

This barn is just south of Elkader, Iowa.

'; var fortdodge1 = '

I have taken photos of this abandoned farmstead west of Fort Dodge, Iowa through three seasons. Sadly this barn was slowly being stripped of its barn boards.

'; fortdodge1+= '

The buildings on this old farmstead were recently all torn down.

'; var madrid = '

Just off the highway, this lone barn is located just south of Madrid, Iowa.

'; var vining = '

Located on one of the many winding, "S" curved gravel roads southwest of Vining, Iowa.

'; var hwy13 = '

Iowa Highway 13 is known as the Scenic Byway. Throughout the beautiful rolling hills of NE Iowa, old barns speckle the landscape.

This barn is north of Strawberry Point, Iowa.

'; var indianabarn = '

This barn in Indiana is barely visible from the interstate as it is so overgrown with ivy and embraced by the trees.

'; //var mitchellville = '

During the Midwest flood of 1993, this farmstead was completely under water. Because the water was so high for so long, the farm was condemned and was sold to the DNR (Dept of Natural Resources) to be restored to a wetland area.

' // mitchellville+= '

This barn has been slowly deteriorating since then and has been a source of numerous photo opportunities for me. This is just the first of many drawings of this barn.

' // mitchellville+= '

This barn is located north of my home town Mitchellville, Iowa.

'; var mitchellville2 = '

The second in a series of studies done of this barnscape. The clouds and lighting added wonderful atmosphere to this beautiful abandoned barn.

'; var strawberry = '

This barn is located north of Strawberry Point, Iowa.

'; var memorylane = '

A good friend and fellow artist, Vince Whitehead, shared a photo with me of an Ohio barn. I incorporated this barn with a meadow photo that I had. "Memory Lane" is one of my first attempts at creating an \'imaginative\' landscape.

'; var cupola = '

I think anyone who enjoys drawing barns will eventually draw a classic detail of a cupola. Here is a very ornate cupola I found recently on a barn.

'; var reflections = '

This beautiful barn is located just east of Gladbrook. The fresh snowfall with the shadows dancing across the face of this barn makes for a wonderful composition.

' reflections+= '

This barn is a bit unique in that the boards run horizontal and are quite narrow.

'; var motormill = '

Motor Mill is located on the Turkey River six miles down stream from Elkader. This six story structure stands approximately fifty feet wide, sixty feet long and over ninety feet high with walls that are five feet thick at the bottom, tapering to two feet at the top. The huge limestone blocks were quarried and transported by cable car from the bluffs above the mill. The mill, built by John Thompson, displays the handiwork of four skilled German masons from Communia. Each wall was constructed by a different mason who was trying to outdo the other masons. Three sides were laid with carefully chipped rounded stone while the fourth, the intake side, was laid with perfectly square cut stone. No two sides are alike. All beams were pegged in and not one nail was used in construction. The wheels and burrs were imported from Italy.

' motormill+= '

Well over 100 years old, the mill shows no sign of settling. Although the exact date is not certain, it is believed to have been built between 1867 and 1869. The Motor Mill historic site includes four related stone structures: an inn, cooperage, icehouse and livery stable. In 1977 the Motor Mill site was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

' motormill+= '

(From "Old Elkader Facts and Food" and information provided by Jeanette Muller)

'; //---------STILLIFE---------- var applepie = '

Our local grocery store was having a sale on pies for only $1.99 a piece. I set up my still life and took photos because I knew this pie would be long gone before I finished my drawing!

'; var queenanneslace = '

Living History Farms offers a wealth of beautiful settings. This view with the lace curtains and Queen Anne\'s Lace flowers were located in the Flynn homestead.

'; var morningcoffee = '

This still-life was fun to put together. I borrowed my best-friend\'s grandmother\'s coffee grinder and used my mother\'s tea cloth. Then I searched local antique shops for the perfect coffee pot. Added a hand-sewn burlap sack, some coffee beans and fabric reminiscent of wall-paper and created a sentimental setting.

'; //---------LANDSCAPE---------- var honeycreek = '

This creek is called Honey Creek and meanders through the farm I grew up on. You could say this was my playground while I was growing up. Fishing and cloud watching were my favorite pastimes.

'; var honeycreek2 = '

This is another view of Honey Creek that meanders through the farm I grew up on. I recall many Sunday afternoons spent fishing under this tree.

'; var inweeds = '

Located on a farm near the small town of Froelich, Iowa.

'; var ivychurch = '

This beautiful steepled United Methodist Church is located in an unincorporated town called Ivy, just east of Des Moines, Iowa.

'; var truck52 = '

This truck was found hidden in an abandoned barn near Gladbrook, Iowa. Through some research and a little help from the license plate, I figured out this is a 1952 International Harvester Truck. There were so many layers of dust on it, I don\'t think it had been moved in many years.

'; var splitrock = '

The rendering of this image is based off a photo taken by Betty Wilson. It is a beautiful scene that offers an opportunity to explore the nature elements of skies, water, rocks and trees.

This drawing is dedicated to the WetCanvas Drawing Forum for giving me the opportunity to share my techniques and approach to drawing with so many talented artists.

This drawing is also featured in my book: "Drawing Made Easy: Beautiful Landscapes."

'; var capclouds = '

This is a rendering of a beautiful vista in the Sequoia National Forest in California. Just around the corner,the terrain quickly changes from tall sequoia pines to the barren Mohave desert. Cap clouds form directly over the mountain top and occurs when humid air is forced to flow over the mountain, condensing into a cloud.

The title adds just a little push to where the viewer\’s focus will ultimately rest.

'; var lingeringwinter = '

This small stream runs through pasture land just west of Mitchellville. Snow was heavy this past winter and this early morning view really caught my eye.

' var tehachapimountainpark = '

California is a wonderland of different landscapes. This little rocky area in Tehachapi Mountain Park is an artist\'s dream... I could spend days exploring all the possible rock and tree groupings. The rocks are rough with lichen and moss covered.

' var cloudsbreaking = '

There are days that the sky is so blue and crystal clear with soft cottony clouds billowing up. We\'ve had some beautiful cloud formations this summer, typically an indication of thunderstorms brewing.

' var trailtolakeediza = '

My son spent a weekend backpacking and hiking through the Ansel Adams Wildnerness just east of Yosemite National Park. This is a beautiful area between Agnew Meadows and Ediza Lake.

' var sevenmilecreek = '

Spring thaw at Seven Mile Creek located in Yellowstone Canyon, Wyoming.

' //---------FARMHOUSES---------- var yesterday = '

Hidden in a clump of trees east of Winthrop, Iowa, I found an old abandoned farmhouse. On the back of the house was this beautifully weathered old door. I often wonder who were the farmers and their families who lived here so long ago.

'; var froelich = '

This beautiful farmhouse has been left abandoned in the small town of Froelich in NE Iowa.

'; var gladbrook = '

If you peak into the corner of the barn, you might see that \'52 International Truck! When I look at this scene, I keep feeling that someone is going to come out of the house and hang up some laundry outside.

'; var osborne1 = '

Just off Highway 13, south of Osborne, Iowa, this abandoned farmhouse has a beautiful view of the "Turkey Valley" region.

'; var abandoned = '

This house is on the same farmstead as the Fort Dodge barn series. This particular day was so windy I had to hold onto the fence post to take the photo. Within a half an hour, visibility was gone due to a dust storm. That was my last photo opportunity as the farmstead was recently demolished.

'; //------LIVING HISTORY var summerkitchen = '

There are a number of beautiful gardens throughout the premises. This one surrounds a small building that was used as a summer kitchen to avoid heating up the main house during the hot summer months.

'; var flynnbarn = '

Living History Farms is a "living farm museum" located in Urbandale, Iowa. This scene proudly displays the 1875 Flynn and a carriage.

'; //------NATURE var threegulls = '

Karen Hendrickson of Oregon shared some beautiful Oregon seascapes with me. This was an exercise in experimenting with textures for rocks and water. But with the addition of the 3 gulls - it turned into a lovely seascape.

'; var treebarkstudy = '

This is a study of oak tree bark. The rich deep furrows, the rough textures and the movement of growth around the scarred limb cuts were wonderful to explore.

' //------HISTORICAL var churchoftheland = '

The Church of the Land stands as a tribute to the idea that people of different religious faiths can live together peacefully. The Church of the Land in Walnut Hill was built in the carpenter gothic style. The narrow points at the top of the windows, the ends of the pews, and the pulpit imitate the gothic cathedrals of Europe. During the 1870s, it was popular to mix different kinds of woods in the same room. At the Church of the Land, the ceiling is made from hemlock, the dark beams are cedar, and the pews and altar are red elm. The doors, window sashes, windowsills, and baseboards are pine, while the floor is fir.

The Church stands on the same hillside where Pope John Paul II spoke to an estimated 350,000 people on October 4, 1979.

';