Assurity Life Insurance: Chad M. Olsen

I wanted to walk straight on through the red grass and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away. The light and air about me told me that the world ended here: only the ground and sun and sky were left, and if one went a little farther there would only be sun and sky, and one would float off into them, like the tawny hawks which sailed over our heads making slow shadows on the grass. -Willa Cather, My Antonia

Growing up in Nebraska, I wished there were mountains and ocean that I could look upon on a daily basis. I found the Nebraska landscape to be boring and neglected by the universe. That was my initial perception of Nebraska.

Now, I have lived in NYC for over 3 years. I do not have many opportunities to escape the city and go into the countryside. I escape in my mind to a place away from the city people, the city smells and city noises. A place of calmness that is familiar. I do not imagine the dark blue oceans or green pine tree mountains. I go back to the sandhills of Nebraska. My Homeland.

The aspects of the land that I remember the most are the rolling sandhills with no tree on the horizon, the big sky, the endless waves of fields, the nighttime moon and stars and the thunderstorms. When people ask me what Nebraska is like, I tell them it is hauntingly beautiful; there is a feeling you experience that you can only understand once you’ve been there. These paintings are my expression of that feeling.