Beneath the Wide-Open
“The sky was as full of motion and change as the desert beneath it was monotonous and still, — and there was so much sky, more than at sea, more than anywhere else in the world. The plain was there, under one’s feet, but what one saw when one looked about was that brilliant blue world of stinging air and moving cloud. ... Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky. The landscape one longed for when one was away, the thing all about one, the world one actually lived in, was the sky, the sky!”
Death Comes for the Archbishop
The National Willa Cather Center is pleased to welcome oil painter Jonathan Goodding to the Red Cloud Opera House gallery this spring! Goodding's paintings capture the energy and wonder of the ever-changing Great Plains sky. With vigorous marks and bold colors, native-Nebraskan Goodding recreates a dynamic and awesome horizon that is familiar to residents of the state.
Both original pieces and prints of Goodding's works are for sale in the Red Cloud Opera House gallery or by calling our office. Prices can be viewed in the digital gallery below.
We hope you will join us for a reception for the artist to be held on April 5, 2024, at 5:00–6:00 p.m. The exhibit and the reception are open to the public at no charge, as part of our mission to advance Willa Cather's legacy through education, preservation, and the arts.
Programming at the Red Cloud Opera House is made possible through a basic support grant from the Nebraska Arts Council and Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
About the Artist
Jonathan Goodding lives with his wife Suzanne and their seven children just outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Trained in painting and printmaking at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Jonathan is drawn to the landscape he grew up in. Through form, color, and energetic mark-making, Jonathan seeks to express the beauty and grandeur that God designed into wide-open Midwestern skies. For regular updates on his process and new work, subscribe to Jonathan’s newsletter at jongoodding.com or follow @jongoodding on Instagram.
