Sunset at Riverbend Farm

Can’t you just smell the newly mowed hay? I grew up in rural California, in a countryside dotted with small farms, and the pungent, earthly smell of new hay is a treasured memory. The more important legacy of the farm, which was for centuries the very heart and soul of the American experience, is a challenging and immensely rewarding cycle of labor tied to the natural rhythm of the seasons.

The farm has always called on the best cooperative instincts of family and rural community. That lifestyle is the true subject of my Sunset at Riverbend Farm, my first published depiction of a working farm and the initial painting in my Riverbend Farm Collection. This is a lovely pastoral image, enlivened by the milling cows that make their slow way back to the barn at sunset and the flocks of geese and ducks that ford the pristine stream. The honest farmhouse and outbuildings and sturdy stone bridge complete the picture of peace and prosperity.

In Sunset at Riverbend Farm, I discover the sweet smell of hay and something more – a sense of perfect peace and tranquility. The great secret of farm life is that, for all its demands, it returns a gift of precious serenity.