k-e-w-a-n-E-E!

I love going home. :)

It makes me happy. I love the scenery. I love the feeling I get driving on I-74, when, at some point past Champaign, it starts to look familiar. It starts to look like home.

I know, I know, I live in Indiana, another midwest farm state, shouldn't it all really just look the same? NO! It doesn't! There are subtle differences, the shading of the land, due to whatever's in the ground, the way the hills roll. Believe it or not, you actually subconsciously memorize the way the hills roll. In high school, my friend and I drove to the Quad Cities for the first time by ourselves. Usually this involves I-80. On the way back, we took I-74 by accident, and realized something was wrong because the hills didn't look right! It's something you just KNOW.

At some point southeast of Bloomington/Normal, before you get to Downs, there are like 300 windmills all in a bundle off on the horizon. I never noticed them before, they were out my right window, sometimes I'll look out to the left, but not often the right, so I have no idea how long they've been there. But to me, they were beautiful. Some were still, some were lazily turning, and there had to be enough to power the nearby city, I swear. I dunno, I was just in awe.

There are several pics that I've painted that came from home. Kentville Road, named for one of the two roads that goes to my grandma's town, Count Henry, the esteemed hog ruler of Kewanee, and Stark Co. Stimulus, which is what you see, driving north on Highway 78, near the Spoon River (which is actually still in Peoria County, but whatever, title still stands). Those were all painted in Indiana, but taken from memories (well, whatever is stronger than a memory, because it feels like part of my blood and being) of home and are usually painted in a fit of homesickness.

There are a lot of really cool people that have come out of Kewanee, and we all like to diseminate to the four corners of the planet, sometimes to see what's out there, and sometimes to survive not having to work in a factory or somesuch. Just in my work, I run into people that know of that town, through Good's or Hog Days or has a friend of a friend, or happens to be visiting Indy for a soccer tournament or something else completely random. It's a little town that gets around!

So I guess I'm proud to represent. :)

There are some windmills outside of Kewanee too. Well, by outside, I mean, you drive out on the Kentville, past Neponset, and keep driving til the little things become big things and there they are. I took a ton of photos, reference pieces for paintings, and some of the photos I'm just proud of and may just present as such. A wicked storm had just blown through, and could still be seen off in the distance, retreating, but still casting a neat dark blue background for these white windmills. Then I found a couple of cool old barns and a couple of gnarly old trees. I'd love to paint these, but am not sure if I could do them justice; their reality is just so cool; so I may just print off the photos for sale/display. The whole trip was pretty well exhausting, on the heels of so much other stuff, including night after night of bad weather, which equals madness at work. I haven't even had a chance to look at the photos on my computer yet, but they look pretty cool on my lil camera screen. I can't WAIT til I'm able to save up enough for a new camera. 3 or 4 megapixels just doesn't cut it much. :( Oh well, the ones I have can always be reference photos, and, next time I go home (HOG DAYS!!) I can always take more "high def" windmill, barn, and gnarly tree photos. They've been there a long time, and they'll still be there.

Next time: Coffee Shop, Cortex, and, hopefully, website updates!