By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

ST. FRANCIS -- For 30 days straight, often from sunup to sundown, hot or not so hot, Peggy Moberly headed out for a day of painting.

Her canvasses, however, often would be storefront windows or glass doors.

Of course, she busily was painting scenes announcing upcoming fairs in Cheyenne County. She also handled fair scenes in nearby Kit Carson County just across the state line in Colorado.

"Not all windows do I get to sit down," Moberly said as she painted a doorway to an insurance company in St. Francis.

That day, she had only two more paintings to go.

"I'm almost done," she announced. "I've got this one and two more."

With cool weather in her favor, she was hoping to finish the paintings.

Welcome to Moberly's summer job, painting advertisements for upcoming fairs. In Cheyenne County's case, the fair begins Wednesday.

While they are advertisements, they are fun, perhaps whimsical, displays.

At the insurance company, her painting happened to show a sheep hanging onto a car for dear life. At an oil company, the painting urged safety, as a helmeted bull butted up against an oil pumpjack.

That painting was a case of the artist's choice, and perhaps one of her favorites.

Along the way, Moberly often is accompanied by her mother, Vickie Schlepp, who cheerily said she offers moral support, not to mention cleaning paint brushes.

Moberly's 2-year-old daughter, Jenae, also is a frequent companion, with grandmother adding childcare to her brush-cleaning duties.

Jenae is no stranger to the painting routine.

She knows windows have to be washed first, and then squeegeed.

In some cases, they have to be careful Jenae isn't too keen on cleanliness, washing away some of the painting her mother just finished.

Sometimes, when it's humid, Schlepp will used a handheld fan to dry the paint. Jenae knows that routine as well, picking up the fan and ever-so-carefully directing it at the painting, all the while scowling at observers.

Moberly is a Cheyenne County resident, living about 8 miles west of St. Francis; her mother lives about 18 miles west, just inside Colorado.

The painting of fair advertisements is a joint venture for the 4-H groups and Moberly. The 4-H'ers sell the advertisements to the businesses and then split the proceeds with the artist who paints them.

Moberly has been painting the Cheyenne County Fair advertisements for nine years now, adding Kit Carson's fair two years ago.

About 60 paintings are the norm for Moberly.

"It's kind of neat how the townspeople get into this," Schlepp said. "They'll say, 'Oh, it's that time of the year.' "

They also stop by and watch Moberly as she's painting a window.

Sometimes, she said, they sit in the air-conditioned comfort of their cars and watch as Moberly deals with the heat radiating up off the sidewalks and the windows.

Moberly said she has a basic plan but is able to take a little latitude in the painting, adding a whimsical touch whenever possible.

"When it comes to the artist's choice," she said, "I try to do something goofy."

Generally, once the fair is over, the paintings are removed.

But not always.

Some are left on for a time, and some have been left on for several years, including one that had to be repainted when the window was broken.