"Road on the Kaw Reservation", Jeffrey Freese, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

Jefferey Freese is a high school student and comes from a family of very gifted painters. This is one of his first oils.  The color in this piece brings to mind a storm is on the way. The clouds are forming in clusters and there appears to be a stillness in the air. The tree line in the middle ground breaks our vision and we see no movement; only the stillness of the prarie. I love the reservation and the beautiful colors that surface in this lovely, soft, still painting.  The road leads us to the end of our journey where the sky and land meet. You can see forever on the Kaw Reservation and this painting lets us see the end of our journey. The brilliant greens in the foreground let us know where light penetrates through the clouds.  This is a wonderful painting and demonstrates a unique and profound relationship between the artist and all that he sees.

"Road on the Kaw Reservation", Jeffrey Freese, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

Oil

16x20

Available for Sale: Contact Jeffrey Freese

"Flint Hills at the National Grasslands" Sher Olson Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS

This is  a highly expressive and beautiful painting that is full of the texture and light of the hills in the National Grasslands. Many of the colors reflect the shadows of the clouds and the lovely deep purples used in the foreground of the painting allows the viewer to see the splashes of color in the abundant wildflowers. I love the wild movement of the clouds in the sky. The bold brush strokes let know that the clouds are moving fast across the horizon creating shadows on the hillsides. The wonderful use of lights on the tops of the hills indicate the sun breaks through the clouds at intervals in this wonderful and highly expressive painting. Sher is an accomplished artist and educator living in the small historic town of Council Grove which is just north of the National Grasslands.

Flint Hills at the National Grasslands" Sher Olson
Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS
Oil
16x20
Available for Sale: Contact Sher Olson

"Distant Hills at the National Grasslands" Dara Lowery, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

I love the sky in this very rich and beautiful painting. The activity in the sky is repeated in the light and motion of the grasses in the foreground. The distant hills are brought to our attention through the light and the receding horizon. The soft purples used are just an indication of the variety of color we see in the Flint Hills and at the National Grasslands. The land is vast and uninterrupted. We can see to the farthest hilltop. The sky moves the earth in this wonderful painting. I love the ridge line of the hills and the way the colors move through the painting.


"Distant Hills at the National Grasslands" Dara Lowery
 Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS
Oil
12x14
Available for Sale: Contact Dara Lowery

"Grove of Trees National Grasslands" Sher Olson, Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS

Sher Olson is a highly talented artist living and teaching in the Council Grove area. She has been working in oils throughout most of her artistic career. She experimented using high color to bring out the grove of trees in the draw below the hills. The sky and distant hills are masterfully created using blues, purples, and deep greens to give perspective and to let us know the clouds are moving in an endless procession across the sky. I love the brilliant greens in the hills and the way every color is clear and pronounced, yet is still part of the story of this beautiful painting.

"Grove of Trees National Grasslands" Sher Olson, Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS
Oil
12x14
Available for Sale: Contact Sher Olson

"Flint Hills at the National Grasslands" Anne McGarity Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS

Anne is a sophisticated oil painter and architect. Her paintings are an expression of her fluid and accepting artistic nature. She uses broad brush strokes and color which allows us to explore this wonderful endless landscape. The hills close to us are full of soft color and areas of light where the sun has broken through the clouds. This painting moves the viewer out to the distant horizon where the clouds are moving quickly across the sky. Her fast bold brush strokes let us know the wind is active. Broad brush stokes let us know the deep draw is stationary below. Subtle lights and broad brush strokes are characteristic of Anne's beautiful work.

"Flint Hills at the National Grasslands" Anne McGarity Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS

Oil 

24x36

Available for Sale: Contact Anne McGarity

"Wild Flowers Kaw Indian Reservation" Dara Lowery Council Grove, KS

I love the textural quality of this vibrant and exciting painting. There is great movement in the activity of the brush strokes and the colors. The wonderful brilliant wild flowers contrast with the early spring grasses. The soft violet color in the sky seems to be a reflection of the purples from the flowers. I also love th activity in this beautiful sky and the way the light in the field leads us to the top of the ridge. The shadows of the clouds are reflected on the field in the deeper greens and the power of color is expressed in this wonderful painting that is full of color and light.

"Wild Flowers Kaw Indian Reservation" Dara Lowery Council Grove, KS
Oil
16x20
Available for Sale: Contact Dara Lowery

"Hills at the National Grasslands" Lauren McGarity, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

I love the wonderful colors that move in this painting. The activity of the wind is beautifully suggested in the wild waves of the clouds above the vast plains of the National Grasslands. Everything moves in this painting through the applied use of color. The sun breaks through the clouds and colors the ocean of grasses. The distant purples lead us to the point of the bluff in the far distant left of the painting. Everything rises and falls in such a way that we are often unable to determine if we are in a land or seascape. The clarity of color is maintained throughout this exciting painting. The sky is an amazing expression of light, color and activity. I love the way color is used to help the viewer understand the vastness of this land.

"Hills at the National Grasslands" Name, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

Oil

16x20

Available for Sale: Contact Name

"The School House" Linda Shoults, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

Linda is a sophisticate painter and an active member of both Art Treks and the Arts Council of Council Grove,KS. This wonderful painting was completed at the National Grasslands. Linda has a wonderful eye for detail and we are able to see these details expressed in the light she uses to define the trees and the colors found in the grasses. The viewer feels as though they are looking across a draw up to the school house. The wide expanse of the horizon is captured beautifully in the soft blues that move into the sky. The movement of the wind is expressed in how the trees lean back into the painting. I love the perspective in this piece and the brush strokes she used to create the trees.

"The School House" Linda Shoults, Art Treks, Arts Council, Council Grove, KS

Oil

12x14

Available for Sale: Contact Linda Shoultz

"High Plains, Kaw Indian Reservation",Emily Freese, Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS

Emily has just graduated from high school and joined her family to paint with us at the Kaw Indian Reservation. She is a highy emotional painter and her bold brush strokes and use of the palete knife bring great drama to her canvas. She uses lights and darks to express the impending rain storms and the deepening sky. Deep blues and purples power across the canvas like the winds that are bringing the storm. The tree sways in the foreground and deep purples let us know we are looking over a draw. Powerful yellows give brilliant contour to the rolling plains which make up the lands on the reservation. This is a powerful painting.


"High Plains, Kaw Indian Reservation"
Emily Freese, Art Treks, Arts Council Council Grove, KS
Oil
18x24
Available for Sale Contact: Emily Freese

Sharon Early Spring Plein Air Class, Living Arts and Science Center, Lexington, KY

Sharon is one of my art students from the Living Arts and Science Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Lexington lovely springs. Large white and pink magnolias bloom and every spring flower you can imagine breaks through the earth. The air is lovely and warm and a wonderful relief after the long cold winter months. Our classes often work outside during the late spring.