Two paintings by Paul Marlow of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, have been selected for exhibition at the 2019 Iowa State Fair. The paintings "One Last Walk Together" and"Long Shadows On The Short Farm", were chosen for the exhibition, in the adult oil painting category.
One Last Walk Together. 2019. Oil on Canvas.
24 in. x 48 in.
"One Last Walk Together" features a mother and daughter walking west on Chicago’s Navy Pier, the summer before the unexpected death of the mother, at the age of 44. As the title implies, there is a poignancy in this composition, as their teenage daughter holds her mother’s hand. Together they walk towards the skyline, and a day of fun in Chicago.
The second accepted entry, “Long Shadows On The Short Farm” features the Short Family Farm, located north of Troy Mills, Iowa. The Short Family has farmed the gently rolling hills in Eastern Iowa for 107 years. The painting captures the drama of light and shadow, the powerful panorama and the beauty in the fleeting moments of a fall day in Iowa.
Marlow won first place in the 2018 exhibition for an oil painting entitled “Tornado Watch, Fall”, and second place in the 2017 exhibition. This is the fifth year in a row Marlow’s work has been selected for the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition.
The Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Salon has a rich and vibrant history, going back to 1854. Many of Iowa's finest artists have won prizes at the state fair, including renown regional artist Grant Wood. Beginning in 1929, Wood won prizes in oil painting four years in a row at the Iowa State Fair. In 1930, Grant Wood went on to paint his iconic masterpiece, "American Gothic", one of the most familiar images in 20th-century American art.
The Iowa State Fair is expected to draw more than 1 million people to Des Moines this year.
Long Shadows On The Short Farm. 2019. Oil on canvas. 36 in. x 48 in.
The Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit will be open to the public August 8, 2019 through August 18, 2019 at the Patty & Jim Cownie Cultural Center, on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.