As we drove across the great Kansas prairie, I realized that it is very beautiful. That may seem an obvious thing to many, but I grew up in Kansas, and I grew up longing for the mountains of Colorado, where I was born. I did not appreciate the flatness, the seeming endless emptiness, of the Kansas landscape. But I have come to appreciate that vast open space as the world has seemed to become crowded and full. I can now see that the prairie landscape has a zen-like peace to it. Sitting in the truck as we passed through a thousand miles of prairie cleared out some of my cluttered soul.
The moon was almost a full one throughout our trip, and it seemed to rise very early, with no mountains blocking it's arrival. I am not sure that I captured all that I felt about the moonrise and the prairie in this little 8x10" painting, but I am glad I gave it a shot. The larger paintings I have been working on, though they are not landscapes and I began them before our trip, also are 'filled with emptiness.' It was good for me to see how beautiful something can be without having to be 'full.'
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