"I must confess that I have a weakness of empty places."

   
   The title of this blog entry is a quote by author Tony Hillerman, who is best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels.
   It's a confession that I, too, have realized. A weakness, or fondness, for empty spaces has become a reoccurring theme to my landscape paintings. The only thing limiting the sky and field is the size of the canvas. The farmhouse, windmill, barn or -- in this case -- grain elevator acts as a detail that draws your eye and further emphasizes the vastness of the sky and land.
   It's a place where I feel I can breathe. 'Empty' can have such lonely and negative images attributed to it. But when I look at this painting -- or some of the others I have done -- I am filled with a sense of calm and reflection.
   I hope that you also find a similar feeling when you look at this painting.

   Thanks for looking and please feel free to comment.