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Dayton, WA
$325.00
Title
Old Fence Older River
Artist
Steve Henderson
Medium
Painting - Oil On Panel
Description
One of the most intriguing things about man-made structures – like buildings, roads, fences – is how temporary they are. Especially with fences, it seems that they are hardly built before they begin to sag.
Even great marble temples and pyramids of ancient days show their wear, and what we see now is not what people saw then.
But nature’s structures – mountains, valleys, lakes, monolithic blocks of stone – break down at a far slower pace, and when we enter into a place that hasn’t been “developed” by humans, we more easily imagine what it looked like long before we were born.
Such is the landscape of Old Fence Older River. The road (which, without being kept up, will not look like it does, 100 years from now) follows the winding and the wending of the Imnaha River in Northeast Oregon, USA.
In the late 19th century, before the U.S. business settlement culture completely disrupted the lifestyle of people who had lived in the area for a long, long time, the Chief Joseph band of Nez Perce Indians used to travel along this path, on their way to winter living spaces.
In the summertime, they camped at Wallowa Lake, in the shadows of the Wallowa Mountains, an area that they considered sacred for its beauty. When winter threatened, they left this high area and worked their way down toward the Snake River Canyon, where the rocky walls protected them from the harsher elements.
One way they took was through the Imnaha River Valley. It wasn’t a rush. Often, they stopped to stay along the way, fishing in the river and gathering the roots and berries of late autumn. Eventually, they made their way to their winter spot.
Today, the path they made is gone, no doubt some of it under the asphalt of the highway. An old fence shows signs of 20th century settlement, and like most such fences, it does not stand as straight and strong as the mountains in the distance.
But those mountains, that river – they’re still there. And when we stop and stand at the banks we can imagine what the land looked like not that long ago, and, with more imagination, what it looked like long before that.
There is great comfort in knowing that some things, beautiful things, do not go in and out of artificial fashion.
Featured on 33 Fine Art America groups.
Uploaded
August 7th, 2020
Statistics
Viewed 7,426 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/26/2024 at 12:59 AM
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Sales Sheet
Middletown, PA - United States
Beautiful work, Steve!!! CONGRATULATIONS, your work is featured in "For the ART of It"!! I invite you to place it in the group's "Featured Image Archive" discussion thread and any other thread that is fitting!! 😊
Punta Gorda, FL - United States
Congratulations, Steve! Your lovely scenic painting has been featured on the home page of the Over 3000 Views group. Please archive it in the appropriate discussions.lf
Middletown, PA - United States
Beautiful work, Steve!!! CONGRATULATIONS, your work is featured in "Your Best Work"! I invite you to place it in the group's "Featured Image Archive" discussion thread and any other thread that is fitting!! 😊
Dayton, WA - United States
To the buyer from Washington State: May this artwork instill in your heart and home a sense of beauty and tranquility -- of an appreciation for the simple yet profound things in life. Enjoy the view!
CA, CA - United States
Steve, this is one I have not seen of your work. Fences accentuate the beauty of any work of art. To appreciate beautiful art as yours is truly a gift YOU have given to all of us! Promoting in 10 Plus. FLFBTw
Port Orange, FL - United States
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group l/f/p
Pfedelbach - Germany
The old River winding through that wonderful landscape - so beautiful Steve! Lf pin
Erlanger, KY - United States
A beautiful landscape, and nice philosophizing!
Steve Henderson replied:
Thank you, Robert. As an aside: my wife and business manager, Carolyn, is the one responsible for these beautiful mini essays on art and life. She writes, I paint.
Vancouver Island, BC - Canada
The eye wanders here and there exploring the intricacies of this beautiful landscape. Love the textures iand soothing colors of nature n this work, Steve.
Steve Henderson replied:
Thank you for visiting, Peggy, and taking the time to wander through the landscape.
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