Don’t give into the thinking that Iowa’s countryside is just a nondescript, ironed-out cornfield. Not, at least, before taking in the sights of Iowa through the eyes of the four female artists featured at the Memorial Union.

Artists Linda Flaherty, Sonja Searcy, Nancy Thompson and Christine Cowan all have strong connections to Iowa and will exhibit artwork that illustrates their unique perspectives of Iowa’s countryside.

The “Reflections of the Iowa Landscape” exhibit, which showcases the work of Flaherty, Searcy and Thompson, opened last week and will remain in the Pioneer Room until Oct. 13.

Ranging in their sense of realism, each artist finds her own aspect of Iowa for inspiration.

Searcy, who lives on her family’s dairy farm near Callender, says she has been interested in art all her life.

Searcy works directly on location to create her paintings, drawing inspiration from the countryside around her and ways the sunlight attaches to nature.

“I love the way the light dances and the way the shadows play on the trees and the ground,” Searcy says. As for her style of painting, Searcy’s brushwork is very loose and fast.

“One thing I do like to capture is that sense of movement. Loose roughness is more life-like,” she says. “It’s a race against the clock. There’s so little time to grab the basics.”

Flaherty, a Fort Dodge resident, is known for her interest in landscape portrayals as well as for her drawings of the human figure. Her work in this exhibit conveys the changing Iowa landscape.

A painter for more than 20 years, Thompson, a Coon Rapids resident, grew up on a farm, close to nature.

“I’ve always been very inspired by the weather here in Iowa, the colors in the sky,” Thompson says. “Something I like to depict in my paintings is the time of day.”

Thompson gained experience at Iowa State as an art and design student starting in 1994, but a meteorology class she took was the inspiration for most of her paintings in the exhibit.

“I took the class so I could understand the cloud formations better as well as understand the weather,” Thompson says.

Cowan, an Ames artist, will show her work in another exhibit, “Wonders, All Around!” on Wednesday. It will be open for viewing in the Gallery room of the Memorial Union until Nov. 3.

Cowan’s work utilizes a wide range of media, incorporating photography, watercolors and pastels to communicate her compositions that contrast the peaceful Iowa landscape with the rough coast of Maine, where she grew up.

“What my goal is as I approach the task is that [the viewer] will sense in what I have painted the reality of being there,” Cowan says.

Cowan is inspired to paint by the nature around her that gives her a sense of spirituality.

“For me it’s a religious experience, an understanding of something greater,” she says.

The official opening night for the two exhibits will be Sept. 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. The artists will attend and be available for questions. Viewing hours for the exhibitions vary due to meeting schedules. For hours, call 294-1437.