About the work

In this mixed-media artwork, I have created a painterly version of Missouri inspired by the state's nature-derived symbols. Here, the state is rendered in layers of pastel that peek from underneath textured applications of ivory paint, a reference to both the colors of the hawthorn blossom, the state floral emblem, and the layered qualities of colorful mozarkite, the state rock. Completing the piece are fluid, wispy brushstrokes stretching across blue-green washes in the background, a collective nod to the tall, bluish-green leaves of big bluestem, a grass native to the state.