Nifty Piks - Photos and Art

Downtown Chicago in the middle of a blizzard translates into a beautiful work of art for Illinois Lovers!

The original Storm Chaser Dorothy Gale shown here with her little dog Toto making her way away from the tornado. Great fun for adults or children from Londie Benson.

It's a little bear adrift on an innertube. Original drawing by Londie Benson will bring a smile to everyone's face!

Adorable little Froggie sits on a Lilly Pad and flips his tongue! Great for kids of all ages! Colorful fun from Londie Benson!

White chrysanthemums are beautiful flowers...not big, not expensive...but abundant and pretty...and a sure sign of fall. These mums were found at a farm store on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Valley of the Mums, chrysanthemums that is.

Golden chrysanthemums rise against the clear blue sky of an autumn afternoon on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Pumpkins on a Diagonal

Amazing Maize or Indian Corn. Maize is a popular decoration for autumn holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving. Colorful and long lasting, Indian Corn is sold by farm markets all over. These ears of Maize were shot at a farm store along Rout 50 on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Got your goat? This young Billy Goat is keeping an eye on the photographer, but not because he is afraid of people. This Billy want to see if anyone is headed near the food dispenser, in hopes of getting a treat. He is a resident of an Eastern Shore farm in Maryland.

This Billy Goat Gruff just might be giving you the eye from a rocky crag atop the high Sierras in the Wild West. Either that or he's watching for treats from a platform at a Maryland Eastern Shore farm. We'll have to go with the farm animal scene. But he did get a treat - and I got the shot.

Sunset in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Autumn colors the Blue Ridge as the parkway winds it's way around the mountain tops.

A peaceful woodland setting.

Two men fishing from a canoe on Sherando Lake in early autumn.

A buck travels deep into the forest.

A querious squirrel peeks around a tree.

A parrarie dog shades himself in the afternoon heat.

A foggy sunrise on the farm as a trucker returns home.

Little Red Riding Hood plays with the forest creatures, while the Big Bad Wolf watches from behind a tree in this whimsical children's illustration.

A young girl jumps rope made from a rainbow in this whimsical storybook style illustration by artist Karyn Lewis. Behind her, butterflies flit on the grass and it looks like a summer storm has just passed. But is the rainbow real? Or does she skip rope only in her imagination?

Two whimsically painted cat angels create a heart and rainbows in the clouds in this charming illustration which is sure to please cat lovers of all ages.

Decorate your baby's nursery or child's room with, "Counting Sheep," a whimsical illustration that shows fluffy sheep flying through the blue sky.

This whimsical children's illustration by illustrator, Karyn Lewis, features seven adorable lizards leaping through a blue sky. A perfect fit for a child's bedroom or baby's nursery.

Adorable winged pigs fly through the sky in this whimsical children's illustration that's perfect for a child's room or baby's nursery.

A swarm of sleepy bees fly through the sky in this whimsical children's illustration by illustrator Karyn Lewis.

Your little pilot will love this colorful & whimsical illustration of a plane flying through the sky. Perfect for airplane fans!

Six beautiful ballerinas leap into the sky to perform an aerial ballet in this whimsical children's illustration by Karyn Lewis. Perfect for a child's bedroom or baby's nursery.

Decorate your child's room or baby's nursery with this colorful and cute illustration of a school of dreaming clown fish swimming through tropical waters.

~for a special friend who shines with inner light~ Despite adverse conditions, this azalea brings us joy by blooming out of season.

These heart-shaped leaves and petals give color to any garden.

Azaleas and sunshine--this will make the perfect accent for your hallway.

The fragrance of a yellow rose is as delicate as its velvet petals. This photo will be beautiful with both contemporary and romantic decor.

In April this red azalea bush is a fiery mass of blooms from head to toe.

This is like a splash of sunshine on the wall. That green speck on the petal is not a blemish--it's a tiny beetle trying to be invisible.

Shy, or still asleep? This gerbera has velvety petals as soft as a baby's skin.

Little bursts of garden sun for your mouth, these are lots of fun to eat. My granddad called cherry tomatoes "tommy toes". Perfect for your eat-in kitchen.

Some afternoons are so hot that the pepper plant allows its leaves to droop until, refreshed by the morning dew, it straightens back up. This pimiento looks great with or without a mat.

White amaranth has a wonderful texture. They are striking against their deep green foliage. In this photo you can also see the tiny white blooms within the fuchsia flowers.

This was taken at dusk.

These cheerful flowers remind me of red clover.

The cracking paint of this old barn near Brighton, CO attracted the eye of my wife's uncle who took me out to photograph the location one morning while I was visiting. Since our visit, this barn has been demolished to make way for further urban sprawl.

A long exposure taken at sunset during one of many windy days near Green, KS.

An image of the Schweer's barn looking from thier back yard. Notice the old windmill now overgrown by the trees, and replaced by a hand-driven pump at its base.

An idyllic scene of the west. These cattle were grazing near this windmill and water bin in the open plains of norther New Mexico.

This field of sunflowers was in full bloom on this fall morning north of Denver, CO. The great cloud formations help add drama to the scene.