In this third picture book of paintings, artist Ed Rath muses on three places that inspired him to paint the landscape of the American Midwest: his grandparent’s farm in Howard Lake, Minnesota, St. John’s Prep School in Collegeville, Minnesota, and the farms and wetlands of Burnett County, Wisconsin. Seen through the eyes of the artist as a youth in Minnesota, these large colorful works bring us back in time to a world where one experienced nature unaccompanied by the drivel of cell phones and computer devices. The book focuses on a group of paintings created in his Manhattan and Brooklyn studios that were made in the 1980’s. During that time Rath experienced an epiphany in his work. In the search for meaningful subject matter he realized that his most profound memories involved specific places where he had a deep connection to the land. He proceeded to draw and paint directly from these memories in an attempt to capture the essence of those places.

The book features full color reproductions of forty-nine paintings and drawings along with detail shots and biographical annotations.