"Earth, Wind, and Renewal" depicts the intense and beautiful Kansas Flint Hills, where ranchers and landowners conduct prescribed burns each spring. These controlled fires are essential for managing the prairie ecosystem and ensuring the health of the grasslands. The blaze encourages new growth of native grasses, which can outcompete weeds, control blowing snow, and offer shelter for wildlife. This annual renewal process is echoed in the depiction of the fire. This piece is a testament to the transformative power of natural cycles and invites viewers to reflect on the intricate balance between destruction and renewal that defines the natural world.

Prairie Grass burn at the Flying W Ranch, Chase County, KS

Ceramic Teter Rock sculpture created using slabs of white clay and finished with iron oxide, satin matte white and temmoku glazes for a rock-like texture. To fully show the different sides of the sculpture, I submitted additional photos to Buttonwood Art Space. I wanted to visit Teter Rock for years and finally took the detour from my hometown of Kingman, KS back to my Kansas City home. I headed east of Cassoday from the Turnpike and followed the gravel road and signs to Teter Rock. I was excited to finally see the monument! I was able to photograph Teter Rock from all angles so I could recreate it with clay. Over the next several months, I worked to create a series of three sculptures. Using thick slabs of white clay, I created two sculptures of Teter Rock in two sizes. Another sculpture, which is also a vase, was made using slabs of reclaimed dark clay. Once the pieces were dry, they were bisque fired. The next step was glazing the pieces. I made several test tiles to practice various glaze techniques to get the stone finishes I desired. I glazed the white pieces by applying an iron oxide stain which was brushed on and sponged off to give a rusty base color. I then added a satin matte white glaze to all pieces by sponging it on to give a rugged appearance. I added touches of a temmoku glaze to the smaller sculpture. Each piece was glazed a bit differently to give unique characteristics to each sculpture. Two dimensional photographs of the sculptures cannot accurately show the shape and details from all angles. Teter Rock has a completely different look from both sides as do my sculptures. The work was painstaking and took several months to complete all three sculptures. Each piece is unique in size, color and texture, yet they all resemble the awe-inspiring Flint Hills Teter Rock! This sculpture weighs 2 lb, 1 oz. The dimensions are 6”W x 7.5”H x 4”D.

Lost Stories was created from photographs that I took of vacant & abandoned buildings throughout the Flint Hills. I love the muted colors & architecture that speak to a time when these wonderful structures were alive with community.

A male Monarch butterfly visits a Button Gayfeather (genus Liatris) wildflower on a cloudy prairie day during its September migration.

A female Monarch butterfly rests briefly on a Blue Sage wildflower at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. This photo was taken during the Monarch migration through the central United States with their eventual destination being Mexico. The availability of food from blooming wildflowers is essential to the survival of these amazing insects.

With questionable skies, the Flint Hills are beautiful in every season. As you can see the hills in the background, this is in the fall.

Fused Glass Landscape

One of my favorite subject matters is old barns and clouds. The character of the old, weathered wood, is a thing of beauty.

This is an oil of the Flint Hills in the spring. See the hills in the background. Sorry the photo isn't very good, but the richness of this painting in person is extremely rich.

The tallgrass prairie is one of the world’s most complex and diverse ecosystems. The unique topography has evolved over millions of years through erosion of the limestone and chert (or flint). The result is rolling hills with caps of chert and hillside benches. Trees grow along the meandering streams and rivers. This piece is based on a satellite image of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve just north of the Visitor Center. I was inspired to recreate this unique version using fused fabric, raw edge quilting, hand-embroidery, and thread-painting to create this unique art quilt.

Spring in the Flint Hills showing off wildflower color and rich green hills.

This glass sculpture has lots of texture with 3D sunflowers, leaves, ladybug and bee. it stands on its own. This curved sculpture looks great on its own, in a window or as a candle screen with a candle behind it.

NE Wabaunsee County, driving home after seeing the fields suddenly green one day after weeks of seeing them as winter dried grasses or blackened after the April planned burns.

NE Wabaunsee Co., early morning clash of warm and cool fronts creates fog over the Kansas River and storm clouds and rain. The life giving cycle of water to nourish the world

This studio painting is based on photo references and a plein air study on location. This field is located by Deep Creek Road near the Konza Prarie. My wife and I spent a memorable evening there, painting the spectacular evening light, accompanied by a friendly farm dog.

Chase State Fishing Lake is located just west of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas in the Flint Hills region. This spectacular waterfall is tucked away beside a tree shrouded path below the dam, at the northeast corner of the lake.

mixed media collage on board

Purple Cone Flowers at the Konza

""Cresting the HIll" is in the Romantic tradition, in that I wanted to emphasize the emotional and spiritual power of nature. I wanted to more away from the typical subject of Romantic landscape painting (mountains and dramatic skies) and focus on the quiet beauty of the Flint Hills. The purpose of this painting is to evoke mood and a sense of limitlessness. The paintings is based on a drone photograph that I took. It's remarkable how gaining just 30 feet of elevation transforms the perspective—expanding the landscape, extending the horizon, and offering a truer sense of the vastness of the Flint Hills. In "Cresting the Hill," I aimed to capture that quintessential Lewis and Clark moment—when you reach the summit and, for the first time, see the vast landscape unfold before you, hinting at where your journey might lead —a quiet but profound realization of the scale of the world and your place within it.

It is not possible to ignore the horizon in the Flint Hills. It is inescapable. It is the line that divides and connects, grounds and lifts, contains and expands. To me, the horizon is not just a compositional tool, but a metaphor for transition and possibility. It is the meeting place of opposites: light and shadow, sky and land, presence and distance.

This painting, "The Edge of Evening, "captures the landscape in the quiet interval beyond the golden hour - after the sun has fully set, but before true night has arrived. This temporal choice is crucial to me because it situates the work in a liminal moment when light no longer defines form but instead reveals atmosphere. It is a time that requires restraint and a sensitivity to nuance, as the drama of direct sunlight is replaced by the quiet complexity of indirect light. Here, the time of day evokes a meditative mood - when the world appears hushed and expansive. It’s a moment of surrender, not spectacle, and I hope that the painting’s power lies in its ability to hold that tension with dignity and grace.

I frequently include anthropogenic elements like roads, dams, and reservoirs in my paintings. These features serve as reminders that much of the terrain we occupy has been shaped by human intervention. The reservoir, for instance, is not a natural lake but a constructed landscape, and I believe it’s essential to acknowledge and represent these human-made transformations in my work.

daisies on a trail in the Flint Hills

cone flowers on the prairie

I was there to photograph a trail run. But the morning sun, color graded sky and waving, golden grass caught my attention, and I was transfixed for a quiet moment of solitude before the onslaught of runners began to pass me by on the trail.

While photographing a prescribed burn on Konza Prairie, I was struck by the stark contrast of the the lone tree against the burning tall grass prairie around it, which almost appeared to have a glow about it. Channeling advice from the tree-"stand tall and endure the trial of fire that surrounds you".

Original Linocut Block Print

Fox Creek runoff area near the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in October, looking south.

Fox Creek runoff area near the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in October, looking east

Porcelain, cotton wood limb, iron scythe (found), sandstone, copper wire, turquoise filler

Whenever I see images of Van Gogh's work, the brush strokes look like thread painting on a fabric background, and Van Gogh's Tuscany reminds me of the Flint Hills. I use only post-consumer materials in my work - from family, friends and creative reuse stores. Swirly “Van Gogh-esque” polyester fabric - given to me long ago - was my inspiration for this piece.

The rocky Flint Hills may seem barren from a distance, but life abounds in many kinds of flora and fauna - including colorful wildflowers and many species of butterflies.

Mixed media collage. Moonlight above the prairie can cast other worldly visions

I took this photo while out on a morning drive with a good friend through the Flint Hills. There was fog in the draws that really helped bring out the shapes and textures of the Flint Hills. This was a really good morning to be out for a drive.

Cattle grazing on a beautiful evening in the Flint Hills.

Evening light casts soft shadows across the hillsides and cattle in this view of the tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills.

A road disappearing into a pasture in the Flint Hills.

Stream running through the Flint Hills with a house on a distant hill.

Hay bales on a wagon ready for the barn.

Bison resting on the prairie

Flint Hills green landscape with fence post, barb wire and flora silhouette.

Flint Hills landscape with two small ponds.

Prairie horizon at sunset.

Carnahan Creek Rd. next to Tuttle Creek Lake in mid October.

7x7” watercolor, matted & framed under glass

View from Lake Road, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

Junk of the heART #250- Flowers/Mixed Media on Canvas 2025 8"x 10" ~$35

Aerial photo of the peaceful splendor of the Flint Hills of Kansas.

The Flint Hills of Kansas with Tuttle Creek Lake in the background.

Horses in pasture near Flying W Ranch.

By the Tallgrass National Preserve

Getting ready for a ride at the Flying W Ranch in the Flint Hills

Cowboy resting at the Flying W Ranch

A worker helking to keep a burn in the Flint Hills Under control

This piece is #6 of a limited edition of six original prints. The print is a multi-block reduction linocut print created with relief inks, battleship grey lino, and printed on 120 g/m printmaking paper. Along KS Highway 99, there is an old Fina gas station in Alma, KS. I liked the shape of the building. Then, of course, there are the stacked stone fences throughout the area bordering green fields. This is a graphic presentation, with mid-century modern design touches, of sights you will see along Highway 99 in the Flint Hills.

A Kansas thunderstorm forms,late afternoon heading east from Manhattan. .

oil painting, red sumac in early fall, Flint Hills of Kansas

Greens of the Kansas Flint Hills in summer.

Acrylic painting of a Male Greater prairie-chicken in a black floating frame.

I love to capture the gentle slope of the landscape in the scenic Flint Hills of Kansas.

Hiking the Tallgrass National Preserve in Chase County, Kansas immerses you in all the Flint Hills of Kansas has to offer, including breathtaking encounters with Bison. This fellow seemed oblivious to our presence on a warm summer day. I love having the opportunity to honor these magnificent animals and all they represent through my art.

While painting in the Flint Hills, these three decided to join me. They were super interested in what was going on and seemed to be saying they were ready for their closeup. As a fan of early 70's TV shows, these 3 reminded me of the Mod Squad.

Enjoying a brief respite from the rain.

Summer storm blowing through the Flint Hills.

Symphony on the Flint Hills

Grab a chair from your youth, sit back and enjoy! Bold and colorful, and comfy. LOL

Loose and colorful. Impressionistic.

Color in bloom! Loose and expressive! Enjoy! :)

Plein air study from front porch of Matfield Station in July 2024

New arrivals join the mustangs being pastured for the BLM on a large Flint Hills ranch.

Roundup on the Shadow Valley Ranch begins at dawn on a July morning.

Josh and Jim Hoy pause while loading steers on outbound trucks during rounduup at a Flint Hills ranch.

November roundup of cows and calves on a Flint Hills ranch allows ranchers to brand, or tag their cattle and provides an opportunity to perform veterinary services if necessary to keep their herd healthy.

Texaco Hill is a location in the Flint Hills of Kansas known for its scenic views, with impressive, wide-open vistas.

This abstract painting captures the essence of a majestic buffalo roaming the vast Flint Hills of Kansas. The vibrant colors, in semi-abstract style symbolizes the strength and resilience of bison as they thrive in their natural habitat. The blue patterned sky and multi colored grasses represent the dynamic ecology and intricate balance of the prairie showing the importance of preservation. This artwork celebrates the enduring spirit of bison herds and highlights the vital role they play in prairie ecosystems. Proceeds from this piece support “Friends of the Konza Prairie” fostering awareness and stewardship for bison management and prairie ecology.

Remembering two amazing men, father and son ranchers, who passed away within a day of each other. The Flint Hills, ranching, friendships shall miss these two who rode together.

Porcelain ceramic vase visiting small bug not included.

During one of my many exploratory ventures in the Flint Hills, I stumbled across this formation of stones in 2021. I call them the Flint Hills Stonehenge or Spirit Stones, and I have heard that others in the area also call them something similar. I have yet to find any definitive information as to the origin, meaning, or ownership of this piece of property which appears to a couple of acres and had not been recently attended to. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting site and allows one's imagination to go wild!

A small trinket dish with flowers. It will be glazed clear with a gold rim

Flint Hills range south of Cottonwood, KS

Stone Fence for cattle range in Wabaunsee County in the Flint Hills

This is exactly what it’s titled. The road we didn’t take and could never find again. I’ve always wondered what it looked like around the corner.

An evening thunderstorm builds south of the artist's home on a warm summer evening in Greenwood Coumty.

Early morning cloud play presented a softly dramatic scene over Cattlemen's Hill west of Eureka, KS.

Looking West from an exit off of I-70

Looking North from Chase County State Park.

A Cloud Front from the North is about to end our day just East of Mattfield Green, Kansas in 2017. This is a studio work

A ghost town in the autumn.

Looking north from a gravel road high point in Summer

This is a soft, atmospheric hill dotted with coneflowers.

A trail leads downhill with heavy foliage on both sides.

Fox Creek School

Chase County Road w/ old cattle pen

Canvas

Fused glass manifested itself into this silhouette of a tall proud woman

Exploring the quiet intensity of the prairie landscape after sunset, a luminous horizon glows faintly beneath a vast, immersive sky. Deep blues and shadowy textures evoke the profound stillness and mystery that descends over the prairie when daylight fades.

A dreamlike vision of the prairie under a starlit sky, where horizontal bands of cloud and color ripple across the canvas in layered motion. The horizon is softened by moonlight, inviting a spiritual stillness where silence stretches wide and sky and earth feel infinitely connected.

In the quiet majesty of the Kansas landscape, boundless prairie stretches toward a sky alive with movement and light. The horizon is softened by atmospheric layers of blue, while textured brushstrokes suggest the wind's invisible path across the open land.

Morning views give a tranquil feel to the start of any day.

Cows doing what cows do on one particular day in the pasture. They must have a tasty spot picked out in the shade.

Raku Beads with brown quartz beads

Plein air painting of cow and calf in ink and watercolor on handmade paper.

Plein air painting of cattle in ink and watercolor on handmade paper, painted in the pasture.

Ink and watercolor painting on handmade paper, inspired by the ranchers of the Flint Hills and painted in a cattle pasture.

Ink and watercolor painting on handmade paper, of cattle as they approached a watering hole on the Flint Hills.

A loose and expressive panoramic pond nestled at the base of the Flint Hills.

When I lived by the Konza Prairie I remember the interaction between the earth and the sky. Some days the sky was the background and the hills captured all the attention but then other days the hills were just supporting characters and the sky stole the show. With this piece I am highlighting the earth/sky interaction. It features a center band depicting the Flint Hills and some sunflowers found within. Above the hills the white textural glaze represents the clouds that sometimes dominate the sky. Yet the glaze breaks, revealing the ground underneath. This piece is 4” in diameter and 6” tall. It is wheel thrown out of a cone six clay named Smoky Hills. It has a bank of domestic porcelain slip applied in a band around the pot’s midsection. Using Sgraffito I carve the sunflowers and Flint Hills into the piece. Underglaze highlights the sunflowers. It is fired to cone six in oxidation.

Created from scavenged barnwood, reclaimed tissue paper, and clay this work shows that beauty can be found in unlikely sources.

Late evening sunset over the Flint Hills

Sunset over the Flint Hills, with taller grass in the foreground

Distant hills with cattle grazing. roadside wild flowers in the foreground

Butterfly sitting on pink coneflowers in the prairie

Porcelain landscape with 3-D prairie flowers (Ratibida and Baptisia), Mother-of-Pearl and 24K Gold Lusters. Porcelain art is 17.25" x 8.375" x 2" mounted in a Cherry wood no glass frame 21.25" x 11.25".

A group of cattle drivers take a moments pause to gaze in the horizon on a ridge of stunning flint hills bedrock. 30" x 10" Polished Aluminum

A line of cattle being driven in the flint hills makes a break, challenging the riders to maintain the stampede under control. 72" X 12" Canvas Wrap

Sunset, Cooler colors on the left, a faint trail in the foreground from lower left with hints of flowers in the foregroung.

Snow in wheel tracks in the foreground, turning to the right around a small, leafless bit of foilage. Atmospere, pruple in the distance, orange and yellow poverty grass in the foreground.

Flint Hills grasses are burned in order to prepare the grass for future cattle grazing.

Experience and a trusty steed made a great team. It was always a pleasure to watch them work the cattle.

Lavender skies and a full moon at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. Taken on November 15th, 2024.

Taken on April 4, 2024 at the Konza Prairie Biological Station.

Taken on April 22, 2025 before a storm at the Konza Prairie Biological Station.

Panoramic view of the Clements double arch stone bridge just before a summer storm

This artwork, titled “The Art of Farming,” is a vibrant mixed media piece that captures the dynamic spirit of rural life and nature’s rhythm. Torn paper and textured layers bring movement and depth to a panoramic farm scene. Rolled hay bales rest across golden fields, their spiral forms echoed in the swirling patterns of a dramatic sky filled with dusk hues—fiery reds, indigos, and soft blues. The expressive sky seems almost alive, hinting at the harmony between land and sky, labor and beauty. It’s a celebration of harvest, craftsmanship, and the poetic calm found in the heart of the countryside.

A flock of ducks sails through the blue sky over the Flint Hills during wildflower season.

An old farmhouse sits alone in a the wide open pasture under a gray sky. The viewer may feel a sense of welcoming coziness, or a bit of melancholy—depending on whether they are coming home or leaving it.

A red barn sits tall on a grassy slope. The height of the barn is exaggerated, reminding us of the significance of this iconic rural structure. A large red barn signified a prosperous and busy farm.

Watercolor on Arches 140lb.

Watercolor on Arches 140lb.

This vibrant pop art painting features a cow’s face, in a kaleidoscope of colors. Its large, expressive eyes gaze directly at the viewer, exuding curiosity and charm. This artwork not only celebrates the beauty of ranch life but also aims to support local ranchers, capturing a playful spirit that draws everyone in.

Kansas Skies celebrates the vast, layered beauty of the prairie. This textured torn-paper collage captures rolling fields under an expansive sky, where golden light and vibrant purples melt into a horizon that feels infinite and full of quiet motion.