Heaven on Earth
Along the Stagecoach Trail…
The Road Less Traveled

As an artist my eyes have been trained to see and interpret what others can not see…to record in paint a method of helping others to look at beauty that is all around us.  Some times I must paint with words what I need to express.

I live in Warren IL, located on the Stagecoach Trail in Northern Illinois, Jo Daviess County.  It is the road less traveled by tourists that flock to Galena by the millions each year.  Untouched by progress it is wonderfully preserved the most beautiful drive in Illinois.  This road I take to work each day to Galena and paint 100 paintings in my mind.  I see all the artist before me with similar compositions.  Look closely you will find Van Gogh, O’Keeffe, Maxfield Parish…American contemporaries, Wolf Kahn, Ann Templeton and Leigh Gusterson.  I pick them out like old friends that I visit daily.  Galenians ask, “How do you make that trip every day?”  I reply, “How can I not.”  It has become part of my art process that I can not live without. 

The beauty changes seasonally, monthly and daily.  It is never the same, even from the morning drive in to the evening drive home.  There are moments thru the year I long for.  For example, in the spring when crops burst thru the soil in fresh lime green rows that tease the eye with secret glimpses of the vibration of the land.  This time of year is so exciting to see it put goose bumps on my arms in remembrance, as I write this.  To the green gold color of the soy in Mid September that makes all the other colors of the landscape sing and you can feel the history of the land…to the amber glow of the evening sunsets and the dramatic shadows that sculpt the land on my drives home.  I enjoy the sunsets tremendously for they are nature’s abstract paintings that are composed differently every evening.  I acknowledge this is the reason why I paint Abstracts.  The phenomenon of the color, shape, lines and form is the most incredible feeling of art I have explored.  It is right there, every day of our lives to see and entertain us all.  

The Stagecoach Trail has a long history for nearly 200 years.  It is the route that was traveled from Rockford to Freeport to Galena with migration of the land.  The road populated galena to a thriving city in the early 1800’s even before Chicago was a town.  The Trail slices Northern Illinois along ridge tops and stage stop towns that popped up like Warren.  North of the Trail is the birthplace land that artist Georgia O’Keeffe came from and to the South the land Samuel Clemens’ Mark Twain made famous with his river life stories.  The Trail has so much history with stories of Presidents Abe Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant travels upon the road.

Along this road in the 1960’s the artist started their journey here.  Seeking out the beauty and calm, the environment was prime for the artistic soul.  Along came a watercolorist Carl Johnson, a photographer Archie Lieberman, and oil painter Levon Jackman.  Carl Johnson’s architectural historical watercolors have created a distinctive look that has preserved Galena-Jo Davies Counties mansion and Main Streets.  Archie Lieberman photographed Jo Daviess County for Look Magazine in the 1960’s, fell in love with the land, settled here, and published photography books of Jo Daviess County Farmscapes. Levon Jackman creates a timeless look of the gardens and landscapes of Galena that are cherished by many.

A new generation of artist have emerged along the Stagecoach Trail carrying on the tradition of the Galena Artist before them. Jan Ketza Harris has her abstracts of the land that evoke a passion for color.  Paul Chase has his painted guitars that are collected by musicians across the country.  To follow with Jenni Knight and her timeless infrared photography of Jo Daviess County, just to name a few.