North Dakota- Prairie

The mists’ of the long islands and Uig mysterious, Norse Chessmen whisper that I am Clan Morrison. Smells of ink and the grime of sketching recognize me as being an artist. The new great art state is North Dakota. They are obsessed with Buffalo. Thus the sentence Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo, North Dakota. If it were not for the Badlands, it would not have any of the Je ne sais quoi of artistic Wyoming. The state is wide open spaces of practically nothing except for grass. The other thing it is known for is how cold it gets there which is a real accomplishment. Recently North Dakota found oil and some of the most uninhabitable land in the continental North America became the most valuable. A good illustration of this is the series “Blood and Oil” with a mass migration to the state. Ironically North Dakota was the boring state in the region. I am from the traditional oil state Texas. While pumping oil defines the state, everything will equal out eventually. I have never been that good at chess.

North Dakota has a great mythology without lake monsters.Everything is on top of a traditional Sioux design.  They are one of the largest First Nations in the state. The left behind everything has Hoodoo Rock in the Badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National park. According to Lakota legend, the Badlands were caused by the Great Spirit flooding the world because they prayed too much about a warring tribe. The park is on the old sight of the first President Roosevelt’s ranch. The left behind everything  is the state house of North Dakota which I portrayed in modernist style. The original building was burned in 1930 but the current one was completed 2007 after all the expansions and is called Skyscraper on the Prairie. The pot is a Julia Matterson piece. She was one of the founders of the revival of Native American pottery adding a modern touch inspired by Prairie School Frank Lloyd Wright.  The flower is the wild prairie rose, the state flower. the branch is American elm, the state tree. The dwelling behind the rose is the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. This is the site where Lewis and Clark spent the winter 1804. It is 9” x 12,” drawn with pencil and white charcoal and completed September 2014.

The name of this piece is Gray stream Blue Snow, is 12” x 18” and drawn with ink, sumie and Chinese watercolors recently. The temperature was in the upper 30’s Fahrenheit which barly would allow forsnow iff it had not just snowed a foot and a half. The Chinese watercolors give a happy felling of snow. If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

Michigan-Peninsula

Haunted, two walled castle ruins and dark islands with unreachable, mystic butts sing to the moors that I am Clan Morrison. The life force of the bristles of a horse and the magic of the orient’s graphite whisper that I am an artist. My dear mother was from Michigan and she taught me how to draw ad because she is gone, I draw. I grew up with stories of this magical place called Michigan. It was a place where there was always snow with the exception of ling at the beach and going sand surfing and every one spoke in Dutch except for her grandmother who was learning English. My grandfather was one of the people to get president Ford in Senate. I was born Texan and it seemed impossible. As Tennessee has Occitans, (French-Italians) Hawaii has Japanese, Minnesota has Norwegians, and New York has Jews; Michigan has Dutch. Michigan also has “Motown.” Ford (cars) and Chevrolet are what make Michigan something other than farming. Detroit is makes a conservative state lean left. The Upper Peninsula was a copper mining region.  I used to call my house in Indiana Fort Morrison America.

Michigan is a unique mythology. Everything is in front the Mackinac Bridge. It was first proposed in 1884and two attempts were made to build it in 1934 and 1936 as part of the New Deal, but failed. Construction stated on it in 1953; the bridge was officially opened May 7 & 8, 1954. Everything is on the boardwalk on the Boardman River in Traverse City. In 1847, Captain Boardman bought land on the river for a sawmill and Traverse City was created which was only accessible by boat until 1864; the river became the industrial heart of the city. Michigan most unique crytid is the Mishipeshu or water panther which is commonly the size of a lynx cat with bronze horns and a prehensile tall. It is said it defend the copper in the Upper Peninsula. In front of the wooden school in a Sugar beet, an alternative sugar plant stated 1884. It has like the potato to Idaho.  The klompen is for Veldheer’s  / De Klomp Wooden shoe factory Holland, Michigan which has a windmill imported from Holland.  The arrow is for the Pontiac's Rebellion from Fort Michilimackinac. The hat is from Fort Mackinac State Historic Parks which is the fort preserved from the 1830’s. The rapids on the far left corner are for Grand Rapids. . It is 8” x 10,” drawn with pencil and white charcoal and completed recently.

The name of this piece is Tree_barn, is 12” x 18” and drawn with ink September 2014. I was standing in someone’s front yard as the gravel road was turning back into asphalt on a back road in Indiana across the street from a corn field that almost ready to pick And some remnants of forest The barn was dress in a sign collection If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

Nevada-Desert and Mountains

 The mystic, stone Crannog islands of the Lochs and wild and free magical unicorns blow to the seas that I am Clan Morrison. The ink grinding stone for Sumi-e and the story board of of Idea sketch define me as an artist. As well accepted, there is symbiotic relationship between art and the Old West. It is an transition for the Rockies, Northwest, desert.  Possibly the least remembered region of the old West is Nevada. There is a general misconception about Nevada because of “Sin City” Las Vegas strip (every large city at one time had that title.)  or Reno. People damn the entire state based on the two cities considering the capital is in Carson City. The roads sign send one to the Nevada side of the Grand Canyon. Ghost towns from past gold rushes are known in the state and an element of mystics. I had friends from Vegas. They said it was kind of boring but hot and dry. The state is primarily a cattle and mining state. As of the 1970’s, the only paved roes outside of Reno, Vegas and the capital were unpaved.  Unicorns have also been seen in Germany, Canada and North Korea.   

Nevada has a very strong mythology. Everything is on Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave Desert. The Native Americans have been in the area since 11,000 BC. Around 1900, there was a there was an unsuccessful sandstone quarry there. It became a National Conservation Area in 1990. The steel mesh stones knelling guy is Cairn from the Nevada museum of Art which was founded in 1932. It became a national conservation area in 1990. Cairn ( the sculpture itself) was created by Celeste Roberge in 1998 but move to the current position just outside the museum door in 2003 and shows humans in geological time. The tree behind Cairn is a Bristle cone which is known to be the oldest growing trees on earth. This is for the Great Basin National park which was honored with a national park quarters. The sagebrush is the state flower from 1917. But, the most iconic element of the piece is the Las Vegas Sign which is not technically in the city. It was placed there in 1959 for $4,000, but now there two more in different areas of the city. It is 8” x 10,” drawn with pencil and white charcoal and completed October 2014.

 

The name of this piece is Valley, is 12” x 18” and drawn with ink September 2014. Primarily, North West Indiana in flat which make it ideal for cereal crops: however, it is not perfectly flat. I knew I was leaving so I found a open field to a farm house If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

Maine-Sea

Ghosts of Highlanders of Culloden Moor and the expulsions and the serpentine mermaid Morag sing to the wind and sea that I am of the Highland Clan Morrison. The breath of a snow-bond easel and the Chi of ground ink say that I am an artist. Art has a unique connection to the sea and the sea has a unique synergy with the state of Maine. It is also one of the most northerly of the lower forty-eight and half of it was owned by England as part of Canada until the mid-1800’s. It is so northern that it has a colony of Puffin Bird, an aquatic subarctic bird. I used to have a friend from there who had a very dominate personality kind of like a New Yorker. He pronounced “ar’s” as soft “o.” The first year in Houston his son who can down with him got married, and got a raise. Ironically while New England tourism has its mark on it, Maine’s main industry is making paper from its vast forest. I am actually from near the port city of Houston and grew up near a swamp.

Maine has a very interesting mythology. The first thing that one notices is the camel which is a metal statue from the desert of Maine. As it is said, it was originally a farm. The “desert” appeared because of bad farming causing the top soil to blow off showing the sand underneath. It became a tourist site in 1917 with a sand museum.  Everything is in front of the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse which was built in 1895 with the brake water coming in 1951. The first keeper was known for his duck decoys. The flag on the light house is the Acadian flag which represent the Cajuns (Acadians) which were force to leave by the English in the 1760’s. The US named the national park on Mount Desert Island after them. The boat is for Penobscot Marine Museum which is a perfectly preserved New England town from the early 1800’s.The Eye on the very bottom of the picture is the lake monster Poco from Pocomoonshine Lake which are 30 foot snakes. In front of the camel is a lobster which is what most know Maine for. It is 8” x 10,” drawn with pencil and white charcoal and completed recently.

The Name of this piece is Snowy Log over Creak which was draws with ink and Sumi-e recently.It was relatively warm by snowing when I started drawing but dropped to the teen by completion. The Sumie I added gives how cold it was.  If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

Colorado-Mountain

The Calis cats which is said to have the powers of the fairy magic and magical giant wolves that roam the Highlands and feed the poor fish swear that I am Clan Morrison. Bamboo, horsehair Sumie brushes and the life-force of charcoal recognize that I am an artist. Colorado is said to be the mountain Mecca for art. This arrived because the gold strike and then the silver strike. Also, my brother is from the state. He emphasized the large German population and Yellow Cake. My senior trip in high school taken with a local Christian School was to go skiing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I was living in Texas, and little is remembered on the lower oxygen as it is the “Mile High State.” The first day I was there, I was up to my chest in snow.  I had not prepared for drawing in the snow so I missed the opportunity to capture the beauty on paper. I also signed up for the mountain hike. In five minutes into the hike, the snow was up to my stomach and I was out of breath. In reference to the other thing, there is a black cat that owns me.

Colorado has a very unique mythology even exuding Bigfoot. Behind everything is Mount Tava (Ute:Sun)also called Pike’s Peak and the people  are Tabeguache or “People of the Sun.”   (“Ta-Wa-Ah-Gath” is another name given for the mountain.) It is said to be the place of their creation story and is considered sacred. (They are said to be the descendent of Aztecs.)  According to their legend, Old Man Coyote opened a bag to see what was inside it from which the people escaped. Zebulon Pike tried to climb it in 1806 giving it his name. In 1893, gold was found in the mountain’s shadow. It was a ski resort until 1984. Everything is on a sand dune from Dune National Park which is honored by the national park quarter. The ski boot is for the big winter sports arena. The flower is the state flower Columbine. The name given by scientist is aquilegia (Latin: eagle because its peddles look like talents) its meaning is either foolishness or holiness.  The bird on the boot is the state bird lark bunting. The weird box is the state mineral Rhodochrosite. It is 8” x 10,” drawn with pencil and white charcoal and completed in 2014.

The name of this piece is Frozen Ditch, is 9” x 12” and drawn with ink March 2014. This was drawn on a gravel road when I was in the Indiana boondocks in the winter. (It was not really that cold that day.) Frozen streams have a unique beauty as the media and the sculpting untencle are formed into one. Also, it is a forest stratteling a road or nature and civilization living in harmony. If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

New Jersey- Devil

Misty magical islands off from Scotland and beautiful, angelic creatures that transform into seals when they wear a skin call me Clan Morrison. Magical fairy knolls and the fraternity and oddity of artist declare me an artist. The art Mecca of New York is completed in New Jersey as the Statue of Liberty is actually in New Jersey. Also, Benjamin Franklin’s son was the last royal governor of there.  The name New Jersey is from the British protectorate and Francophone of Jersey which is officially independent. Ironically there is some confusion about the “Jersey Boys” and people from Jersey island. (They are the only people who speak French with an English accent) But, the state, also, has a dark side. I ask my father what to put for New Jersey and he said crime rate. To hide the slums from the interstate, high green, concrete walls were built in front of them. The government is said to have caused the greatest traffic jam in American history to show its power. One should also not forget about Jersey Shore © and “Boardwalk Empire.” In regard to the first sentence, I write this after a bout of monastic meditation.  

  

New Jersey is renowned for its mythology. Everything is on the famous Atlantic City’s Board Walk. It was created in 1870 to protect the trains and fancy hotels from the sand but it was not until 1883 that the hundreds of store were allowed on it. The Boardwalk did not gain its current size and design came in 1916 and gambling coming in the 1970’s. Everything is in front of a water fall, Great Falls.  Falls are from the City of Paterson and created a place for the mill with the Society for Establishing Useful Manufacturers (S.U.M.) in 1792. The light bulb is for Thomas Edison’ “Invention Factory” in Menlo Park, New Jersey.  The plank on the light bulb stand has the symbol of the Appalachian trail which goes trough that state. The weird horse with bat wings is my rendition of a “Jersey Devil,” New Jersey’s cryptid. (Their Bigfoot flies.)The story of its origin goes that Mrs. Leed pray to the Devil when she was in labor with her 13^th child for that child to be a demon.  The creature supposedly lives in the southern Pine Barrens of New Jersey.  The cannon is for the cannon that the mythical “Molly Pitcher” manned  after her husband was incapacitated during the American Revolution as the state was the cross roads of that war which is memorialized on its state quarter. The flower is the state flower of violet. New Jersey was drawn recently with pencil and charcoal and is 8” x 10.”

The name of this piece is “Cat” and is Sumi-e on rice paper which is 12” x 18” early December 2015. Japanese have a unique obsession with cats with Hello Kitty © as an example, but is not a royal or religious symbol. It could be from the Chinese good luck, home statue of a gold cat waving its right front paw in blessing over the passers. I used my sleeping cat as the model. If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.

California- Hollywood

Inhabited Crofts with grass roves and Scottish “Stone Hedge” in Calabash declared to the Hebrides islands themselves I am Clan Morrison. Beachwood easels and Rice Paper echo I am an artist. The great Mecca for art is California. It is said to be the land of fruits and nuts. (Unclear if it is reference to the population.) But, it was gold that brought Anglos to the state. My dad is from California and he wears socks and sandals which could explain why that style is becoming popular. California is more or less the trend setter of the nation which bucks trends. Fashion creates California because they are Hollywood but do not care what they look like.  For as dry as California is, it is also amazing how agrarian California is.  Most spinach and raisin is raised in the state. The animation and agriculture culture created the “California Raisons” cartoon. The name California is from the Greek mythological, utopian island. The Spanish thought it was an island. There is also the element Californium. The Callidash stones are defiantly Morrison.

California is by definition mythological. Everything is in front of the famous peak and water fall of Yosemite National park. Lincon declared it sight unseen a national trust ruled by the state during the Civil War. In 1889, John Muir discovered the Yosemite Valley and lobbied for it as a national park. It became one in 1890 and is best known for Photos by Ansell Adams. On the peak is the “Hollywood” sign. First erected in 1923, it originally said “HOLLYWOODLAND” and did not have lights. It was reborn in 1978. The castle on the side is for the “sleeping beauty castle” of Disneyland. (adapted for the side of a hill) The head peeking in on the right side is a California Sea Lion. The sombrero is for the Spanish ownership of the state. Everything is on the original flag of the state in its uprising during the Mexican War. The current state flag is based on it. The jelly jarIs for the Knott’s family that created the Boysen berry and is a name brand for jams and jellies which originates from California since 1921. The flower in the hat is the flame flower. It is pined on by the symbol of the Fishermen’s Warf in San Francesco. I drew this picture recently with pencil and white charcoal.      

 The name other is piece is “Carpenter Log” and is made win ink and 12” x 18.” The name is from the road that it was next to. Trees even fallen gain a unique beauty like mussels raped around bone.  A tree fallen has life coming near death’s magical cure surrounding it, but yet the fallen tree’s branches pull toward the sky.If you are interested in buying this or any other of my work email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com to order.