We drove from Kansas City to Chicago last week and followed the Mississippi River through most of Iowa. The river, the farm fields, and the striking fall colors made it hard to keep my eyes on the road at times.

The sketch above is from near Hannibal, Missouri. I liked the sweep of the river as it turned around a bend and the hikers on the path. The sketch below is one I did today using the first sketch as a reference. I wanted to see what the subject matter would look like on a rectangular surface and to show more of the textures of the fields. The first sketch is 9 x 9 and was made in a sketchbook with Bristol paper. The second is 10 x 14 and is on Stonehenge Aquapress paper.