St. Cloud Times — A watercolor painting shows a tattered, inoperable Danish windmill and mill keeper’s shack beneath ominous clouds.
It is Mick Benson’s ’66 ’87 interpretation of an experience he had along the coast of the North Sea in Denmark years ago. Soft, neutral colors and contrasting brush strokes project the forlorn condition of the windmill and the opaque cloud cover while branches swirl in the wind.
This summer, the painting called “The Borglum Windmill” brought Benson top honors in the Red River Watercolor Society’s juried national exhibition. He earned the gold medal award from among 200 entries, 50 of which were hung at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead from June 19 through Aug. 5.
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In 1991, Benson’s wife, Jessie Harper, was administering St. Cloud State University’s international program in Aalborg, Denmark. One day, Benson jumped in his Volkswagen and drove to the North Sea coast. At one point he looked to his right and at the crest of a hill he saw “it:” a fatigued yet statuesque windmill.
