Some Observations from the Hill 
by H H "Hub" Brown

The last time I was in Minneapolis, Nick, my niece's husband (whose real name is Nicolai David -- a name that is getting to be quite well known as a muralist out in that part of the country) had given me some pictures he had taken on a trip to France. Nick had been called to return to France because one of his five brothers had been killed and his mother had had a stroke. One picture is of the Abbey in the old Monastery which was mentioned in the history of the eighth century. Some of his brothers still have apartments in this old building.

 Another picture shows part of the nearby town. The small auto in the foreground is the rental car that Nick used while over there. He said most autos over there are small due to the high cost of fuel. It is a diesel powered Mercedes which he said could go to 100 miles per hour. I told him it seemed pretty dangerous to drive so small a car that fast. 

 Right in back of the auto are some trees that have been trimmed much as some people trim the trees here that they cut back to a certain height every year. Don't remember what they are called. 

 Another picture shows two old towers that are all pockmarked. Nick says that is from some battles that were fought here in the First World War. This area was captured by the Germans and then recaptured by the French. 

 He also showed me pictures of caves in this vicinity that he had explored as a boy that had been used as shelter for both men and horses and at different times by both armies. He has a lot of little books with accounts of battles and other bits of history about that area.

 The last time Bob and I were there together Nick had a paper hanger come and paper the room that was to be the dining room with heavy canvas. Since then he has painted different views of the old farm. He says when his grandmother owned the place there was about 400 acres of farm land. At one end of the room there's a small view of the old Abbey then proceeding to the left it shows a harvested wheat field with some scattered bales of wheat straw. Then, still going to the left you come to some views of an Italian landscape, lots of vineyards.

 He comes by his talents naturally for he showed me small scenes on canvas by both his mother and her mother.

 He had been a commercial artist in France but decided when he came over here he would study something else so he took up the study of making fine furniture. But then I think his delight in putting things in pictures that are not there took over and that led to painting as his full time work. For instance he will take a blank wall and put a window in it and then paint a scene outdoors as seen through the window.