Painting Missouri: The Counties En Plein Air

With more counties than most other states, Missouri posed a unique challenge for Billyo O'Donnell: an outdoor painting on location en plein air for each of Missouri s 114 counties plus the city of St. Louis. Here are scenes both familiar and intimate: farmhouses and barns, Lover's Leap in Hannibal, and the view of St. Louis from the roof of the Cathedral Basilica. Accompanying the paintings are essays by Karen Glines, who provides essential historical information about the counties, from interesting facts about their foundings and names to the stories behind their courthouses. Additional comments by O'Donnell relate some of his experiences while creating the paintings. In Missouri, observes O'Donnell, I have found all that an artist needs, and beyond this, I have found an even deeper connection to place.