I consider this triptych the start of my large-format painting career. I truly did not know if I could paint a scene this large. Leaders of SD Trust in Sioux Falls asked Kara Lynn, an art consultant and good friend of mine, who could create a large painting showing a SD scene. It would hang in the SD Trust’s large conference room located just to the left of the office foyer at 10th and Phillips Avenue. I met with company leaders, and we decided the scene should be the Missouri River. 

I spent an entire Saturday driving the backroads along the river between Yankton and the Oahe Dam. I took about 100 pics. South of Platte driving on a narrow dirt road on the west side of the river, I came to large open gate. A nearby sign said, “No trespassing.” However, I could see a high point up ahead that could offer a sweeping view of the river. I drove to the top of the hill and was rewarded with the view you see in this triptych. I snapped many pics and drove away unnoticed except by a few dozen cattle. 

A few years later, former SD gubernatorial candidate Billy Sutton sat in that SD Trust conference room. After his meeting, he looked at the painting and apparently said, “That looks like my land.” Here are additional pics of the triptych hanging in the conference room.