Stan Metzger Gallery - Rural Retrospectives

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Most of my works are Rural Retrospective paintings, done from my perspective as a child, and conceptualized from vivid memories of my personal boyhood experiences, and presented against backdrops of real and imagined landscapes, in an effort to record and preserve a part of the history of my family, and that of my neighbors, back to 1850’s.

Although the days of men farming with horses, boys going all summer without shoes, and neighbors helping neighbors with wheat harvests and making hay, faded quickly while I was growing up on a small family farm in the 1940’s and 1950’s, my personal memories of that time still play with my senses.

As I work on each piece, I can recall the many neighbors that I am so grateful to have known, and the beauty of these people as they lived, doing ordinary chores. These creations help me re-experiences the gone but not forgotten sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings from that era.

It is my hope that, through my art, you may better understand and relive these more simple and romantic times of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in the rural Midwestern United States.

DISCRIPTION OF WORK

Heavy body acrylics, thinned with mixing medium, and painted in layers on canvas, linen, and gesso board. I use subtle brush stokes, causing the painted surface to be almost completely smooth. I frame each piece, place it in my private, personal gallery, and study it on a daily basis for weeks, making necessary adjustments, before I consider it completed.

SIGNED & NUMBERED LIMITED ADDITION PRINTS

Unless otherwise indicated, all Giclee prints on canvas are limited to 150 prints, and those on paper are limited to 250 prints. They are rolled and mailed in shipping tubes by Priority Mail.

The cost of shipping and handling is $29.95 per print, which is added to price at time of order.

Watermelons 24" by 36" - Acrylics on Canvas This scene is painted from my perspective as a ten year old child. The noontime sun shines brightly down on a wagon load of watermelons, and the cargo still looks like a million dollars to me.	Readying the Sleigh 24" by 36" - Acrylics on Canvas A generous snowfall in 1912 made my grandparent‘s courtship more romantic, however, my grandmother’s impatience never improved. I can still hear her telling him to “hurry up”.
Original $1,795	Original $1,795
20" by 30 " Canvas Print - $395	20" by 30 " Canvas Print - $395
12" by 18" Paper Print - $145	12" by 18" Paper Print - $145

Wall Cloud 30" by 40" - Acrylics on Canvas The almost total silence of riding this fully loaded hayrack will be broken in eight seconds when the huge clap of thunder reaches them. This will be the last load of the day.	Frosty Morning 24" by 36" - Acrylic on Canvas The last week of December brings the longest morning shadows from the southeast sky. Although the green has all but disappeared, it has been replaced by the rich and beautiful complimentary colors of gold and lavender.
Original $2,495	Original $1,795
18" by 24" Canvas Print - $295	20" by 30 " Canvas Print - $395
12" by 16" Paper Print - $145	12" by 18" Paper Print - $145

First Meeting 30" by 24" - Acrylics on Canvas A proud grandmother introduces her first grandchild, who lives in a town far away, to the calf in the barnyard. Although farmer’s sons and daughters moved away from the farm as soon as they could, they always sent their children back to spend a part of their summer there.	Pasture Nap 18" by 24" - Acrylics on Linen This is a self portrait of me lying in the pasture with my dog. Because of their quiet, domesticated nature, milk cows pose no threat to a pasture napper.
Original $1,495	Original $950
20" by 25" Canvas Print - $345	15" by 20" Canvas Print - $245
12" by 15" Paper Print - $145	12" by 16" Paper Print - $145

Old North Orchard 18" by 24" - Acrylics on Linen As a part of our current neighborhood, the Rees family orchard is still largely intact after more than century.	Foggy Morning 16" by 20" - Acrylics on Canvas Foggy mornings always gave me the opportunity to imagine the barn and silo were actually a beautiful European cathedral. The sheep just kept on eating hay.
Original Sold	Original $750
15" by 20" Canvas Print - $245	12" by 15" Paper Print - $145
12" by 16" Paper Print - $145

Daily Ritual 24" by 30" - Acrylics on Canvas As the youngest child, one of my daily chores was to find the cows and bring them back to the barn for the evening milking time. It was Tippy's chore to help.	Weeding 24" by 36" - Acrylics on Canvas This scene is reminiscent of how several neighbor ladies maintained beautiful flower gardens. And when ever I saw the guttering downspouts converging, I knew that there had to be a cistern.
Original $ 1,495	Original $ 1,795
20" by 25" Canvas Print - $345	20" by 30 " Canvas Print - $395
12" by 15" Paper Print - $145	12" by 18" Paper Print - $145

Bringing in the Wash 24" by 36" - Acrylics on Canvas	First One Home 16" by 20" - Acrylics on Canvas Milk cows always know the evening routine, and it seemed that Sandy would head for the barn as soon as she saw me coming out into the pasture.
Original $ 1,795	Original $750
20" by 30 " Canvas Print - $395
12" by 18" Paper Print - $145

Under the Osage Orange 18" by 24" - Acrylics on Linen	Quiet Before the Storm 30" by 40 " - Acrylics on Canvas Created from the artist’s imagination, this scene shows how an oldest son tends to be the family caretaker, as this young man has opened the door to the storm cellar and encourages the family to take shelter. This also depicts the four main crops of Kansas; hay, corn, wheat, and tornados.
Original $950	Original $2,495
15" by 20" Canvas Print - $245
12" by 16" Paper Print - $145

Cooling Shed (Study) 16" by 20" - Gesso Board Before the invention of refrigeration, farmers relied on cold groundwater, either from springs or wells, to cool fresh milk. Spring houses and cooling sheds were common, and this imaginary setting uses water, pumped by a windmill, into a large basin behind the farmer.	Cooling Shed 24" by 30 " - Acrylics on Canvas This painting was inspired by the painting of artist N.C. Wyeth entitled The Spring House. This scene shows fresh milk pouring into a milk can which will soon be placed in a water basin located behind the farmer, and filled by water pumped from a well. The milk was thus cooled before transporting it to the local creamery.
Original $750	Original $1,495

After Supper (Study) 16" by 20" - Gesso Board This scene is painted from my vivid childhood memory of our closest neighbors. Although educated as teachers, Gail and Ollie Schuster Stark farmed with their unmarried son “Pete”. After supper, they would gather on their back steps and visit while Ollie groomed the family dog.	After Supper 24" by 36 " - Acrylics on Canvas Created from the artist’s memory, this is the home of his closest boyhood neighbors, Gail and Ollie Stark, and their unmarried son, “Pete”. Although these buildings were far from the any floodplain, the Army Corp of Engineers destroyed this beautiful home after buying the farm as a part of constructing Perry Lake in the late 1960’s.
Original $750	Original $1495

Taking the Long Way Home 18" by 24" - Acrylics on Canvas Original was Donated to The Capper Foundation's Holiday Collection	The Last Load of the Day 24" by 36 " - Acrylics on Canvas Tippy leads Doll and Pete as they pull a load of hay and three generations of farmers. Riding a fully loaded hay wagon is so quiet that they can hear singing birds, buzzing bees, and a loud clap of thunder in approximately seven seconds.
	Original $ 1,795

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Stan Metzger Gallery - Rural Retrospectives

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

DISCRIPTION OF WORK

SIGNED & NUMBERED LIMITED ADDITION PRINTS

Watermelons

Readying the Sleigh

Wall Cloud

Frosty Morning

First Meeting

Pasture Nap

Old North Orchard

Foggy Morning

Daily Ritual

Weeding

Bringing in the Wash

First One Home

Under the Osage Orange

Quiet Before the Storm

Cooling Shed (Study)

Cooling Shed

After Supper (Study)

After Supper

Taking the Long Way Home

The Last Load of the Day