Prairie Blush

Description

Prairie Blush

I love Pioneer Family History stories that have been handed down for 3 or more generations so I could know ‘my people’.  I also love the stories others have shared from the same era from whom they are descended.  I will always revere these people, upon whose shoulders I now stand, who ran this leg of the ancestral journey so I would not have to experience the harsh living conditions they endured.

I believe, however, that amidst the physical hardships, there were also simple pleasures afforded them.  Even after a long day of walking as they crossed the Great Plains of America to reach the West, I like to think the children played a bit, or that young people also flirted.

‘Prairie Blush’ was painted to recognize the contrast of the mandatory, unpleasant tasks of camp life, (such as gathering buffalo chips for making a fire) and the pleasant expression of youthful feelings, (the young man bringing the young woman a bouquet of wildflowers) that softened their circumstances.

As I continue to study their lives through journals and other writings, I came to the conclusion that in spite of their discomforts, their hearts were strong, their hands were willing and their faith in the living God became their legacy.