Julie Gowing Hayes creates oil and watercolor paintings of things and scenes found mostly in nature in a representational style sometimes with hints of impressionism. Growing up on a farm in Southwest Iowa was instrumental in her development of a deep-rooted love for the outdoors.

I don’t know which I loved more as a child, my art supplies, or my stick horses. I blame television’s Roy Rogers and Trigger for the horse obsession.

Donna Merchant-Crooks has a kinship with nature, where she finds solace and inspiration. She spent years cooking and pulling mule strings in Idaho’s wilderness, developing an appreciation for the rare and untouched.