Plains Backroads, Transamerica Trail, Oklahoma

There’s a gravel/backroads trail across America (coast to coast) that was charted by a motorcycle traveler in the 1980’s called the TransAmerica Trail, and there are over 600 miles of the trail in Oklahoma. I recently took my new camper out to explore the eastern half of the Oklahoma portion of the trail, and it was a very interesting experience. It surprised me how the landscape varied each day, how little water there was in some areas while there were numerous water crossings in others (probably 10”-12” was the deepest - larger rivers were crossed by bridges), how the landscape transitioned from heavy tree cover to open farmland to wide open plains/grasslands, how people lived, and the variety of agricultural structures I saw.  As a landscape painter I considered this an exploration of painting possibilities and sites. The weather was gorgeous and the roads were surprisingly good (mostly well graded and compacted gravel).

This painting illustrates the typical landscape views of the second day on the trail, and was accepted into the "Backroads & Byways" exhibition at the Terra Rosa Art Gallery, Guthrie, Oklahoma.