Saturday, December 21, 2013

Rollin' Up the Barbed Wire, Gilman Peterson Christmas print from the Edwards family

Merry Christmas and God July from Diane and Dale Edwards
        I decided to do my annual Christmas print as a tribute to my Dad, Gilman Peterson, who would have been 100 years old this year.  He lived to be 95 so we were all lucky to have him for so many years.  This painting was done from a photo of him doing what he loved to do, work on his treasured farm/ranch.  The hill in the background was named after his father, Halvor's Hill, and is a landmark of the area, topped with a 75 foot flag pole put up after World War I as a tribute to the veterans of the area.
Dad put his whole life into our farm, and, of course, we all helped!  There was always plenty of work to go around and my Dad was a meticulous farmer, actually enjoying the kind of tedious work most farmers didn't even bother with, like rolling up the barbed wire so the cattle, deer, antelope but especially the horses wouldn't be harmed.
     Dale and I have had a great year, enjoying our grandchildren and doing some traveling.  Dale is retired, but doing some part time security officer work at the hospital and I am not retired...painting almost every day!  It is work, but the kind my Dad enjoyed...productive and enjoyable!
    We hope you all have a great Christmas!
Diane and Dale Edwards
2013