[stumpstalker]

I believe that the Japanese term Wabi-Sabi could apply to these images and why they resonate with us.

Here is a short essay, written by an artist lady local to me, explaining the term and how it applies to her art.

"Returning to Nature
by Nan Quintin

My father was born in 1913. He was a farmer and he loved to tinker with his Fordson tractors from the 1920s. He was still using them in the 1950s and ‘60s. Over the years he migrated to newer old tractors that we still use.

Wabi-sabi is a comprehensive Japanese philosophy that comprises harmony in all things, respect for nature, purity and tranquility. It is a transcendental way of looking at and thinking about possessions and existence. At its core are three facts: nothing is finished; nothing is perfect; and nothing lasts forever. It is the beauty of the incomplete, imperfect, and impermanent. The wabi-sabi aesthetic includes items which are, in general, returning to nature; and include junk, rusty objects, flaking paint, and falling down buildings.

My father has been gone for many years. I enjoy looking at and thinking about the old equipment he left behind on his beloved farm. I paint pictures of the old buildings, tractors, trucks and the many items he kept for when they would be needed.

I wistfully appreciate that someday my paintings too will return to the earth, as will we all."