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Rural Landscapes

I grew up in southern Arkansas, in Monticello. My Mom’s parents lived about five miles west of Monticello. Growing up, we would sometimes go swimming in the Saline river. My brother and I would roam the creek bottoms behind my grand parent’s house. We climbed all over the two barns.  I searched the gardens and cowpaths for arrowheads.

For the past three decades, I’ve been building a portfolio that depicts a visual snapshot of the landscapes I know and remember. Beginning with scenes from southeastern Arkansas for the most part, I have gradually extended my search to other areas for inspiration. These paintings come from our family travels and of course, places around Fayetteville where we live. 

Subject matter varies widely. There are paintings rooted in memory. And other pieces closely examine in detail the natural landscape as it is now. I enjoy showing what we have done to our state and also illustrating the places where we have left it alone. I try to give the viewer a feeling of the current landscape and how that relates to the past.   

I never suggest that we need to return to the “old days” and I think remembering is compatible with the contemporary. Both perspectives exist in this collection that seeks to tie it all together.

The following works are for sale either directly from the artist or from Cantrell Gallery. Send an email to inquire about purchasing one of these paintings!

Acrylic painting of an old cedar tree, with its roots exposed, on the edge of Yellow Rock trail at Devil's Den State Park
Cedar on Yellow Rock, 12 x 24 inches, acrylic on masonite, 2019
Acrylic painting of an ice covered light blue stream, with piles of dried leaves on both sides of the stream.
Layers of Cold, 12 x 21 inches, acrylic on masonite, 2019
An acrylic painting of a water-filled hole chiseled into the rock surface at Petit Jean State Park.
Pot o’Gold, 21 x 21 inches, acrylic on masonite, 2017
Barn Associates, acrylic painting by Daniel Coston, of an old barn with outbuildings behind the main barn.
Barn & Associates 18 x 24 inches
An acrylic painting of an old, rusty washtub leaning up against the side of a tree. The background is covered with a carpet of rusty leaves.
Rusty Carpet, 16 x 20 inches, acrylic on masonite, 2014
An acrylic painting by Daniel Coston of a group of pine trees alongside a south Arkansas highway.
“Different Stages”, 16 x 20, acrylic on masonite, 2017