Again, I am busy this morning but want to share something from one of my favorites and an influence on my work, Grant Wood. I’ve written about his work here in the past, about how his treatment of his landscapes really affected the way in which I approached my own. There is always such a great rhythm and a beautiful harmony of color and forms in his work. They seem like living beings.
The painting shown here on the right, Near Sundown, which was once owned by Katherine Hepburn, was a piece that really sparked me early on. The impression of it in my mind and memory still informs how I treat a lot of the elements in my own work.
This is a nice video with an interesting song backing it. It’s a folk pop hit, Greenfields, from The Brother Four from back in 1960. It was a song that went all the way to #2 on the charts when it came out but it’s a song that I had never heard. Well, maybe I’ve heard it and just plain forgot it. That’s a definite possibility. It might not have been my first choice as the soundtrack for this video but it gives this a kind of neat, kitschy feel.
Give a look and enjoy the work of Mr. Wood. Have a great day.
Redtree Times 
I’d forgotten this song, but now I remember. When it was popular, I loved it for the feeling it evoked in me. At the time, I was far too young to recognize it as nostalgia. It’s interesting that, at the time, I understood it as a song about two people. Listening now, I hear it as a lament for a whole world — natural, cultural, and social — that is either gone, or disregarded.
I still can’t recall the song but Cheri remembers it well. You’re right, it really evokes a sense of nostalgia. Another interesting fact was that it went to #1 in Norway.
That Grant Wood painting is beautiful.
I enjoy most of his work.
Your posting is often like an art history and musical lesson. Love that you share so much of your talent and knowledge with us. I did not recall that this artist had such beautiful landscapes too. And your musical selection was one of my favorites from way back when!
Thanks, Vivian. Oh, it was his landscapes that first caught me. The “American Gothic” painting, while a wonderful piece, is almost a distraction for me from the work he did with his landscapes.