Harvester in Red
1966, Oil on Linen

“This may well be my earliest large tractor-harvester painting. All the big elements are here coordinated: Heaven, earth, field, man and machine. The tractor, sky, man and the cotton of the field- all are interacting at the same time under the hot August sky. Each of the four grand elements of nature unfold before us: Heaven, earth, plowman and priest. At the center of all the moving elements in nature is man. He brings together adjusting his need for sustenance and the forces of nature: plowing, planting, adjusting to rain, sun, and harvest. He harnesses his tractor, tools and animals making everything ready. Each part has its time to begin and time to end. The laws of earth and heaven, soil and moisture come together under the wheels of man. Is there a greater enterprise than this creation? Man and all of nature participates. There was a sense of grandeur about these huge machines sweeping across large fields. As we would drive from town to town, I was always aware of these machines throughout the year- planting, nurturing and harvesting across the  vistas as the seasons changed. Divinely ordained, this cycle of growth and work between heaven and earth continues to make our world habitable.”