ALASKA !!

I'm going to Alaska! I signed up last July never believing that I would actually go! I have a couple of paddling excursions planned including one to Mendenhall Glacier with just 2 of us going! I am excited that I will get the views from the top of a ship and still get the wilderness experience of paddling. Hope that I will be able to paint a couple of large paintings from my sketches. This was painted from a lo-res image off a web travel site, but gives me a flavor of what I will see soon! This is Tracy Arm fjord near Juneau.

This Tree

I paint this fruit tree every spring. It continues to serve as one of the most challenging scenes I paint all year based on the complexity of it--split boulevard, traffic signs, park and townhouses in the background. This year I didn't get to it until the pink blooms were gone. I have a collection of them all painted from the same vantage point.

The most interesting part of this tree and this series was when I stood up and served as the lone advocate for saving this tree (its partner got wacked) from road construction. Most of the 65 people attending were scratching their heads and quite mystified that anyone had an attachment to this particular tree. Hopefully, my testimony for saving a "tree with character" is now buried deep in public record...

Red Shoes

Mom always wears these red shoes. And frankly they are beyond comfortable. I have been offering to take her shopping for new ones, while pulling various black styles out of the closet, but nothing else will do for her. I visited her unexpectedly and found her wearing sensible black sandals. I felt betrayed. I felt sad. Is this yet another stage of her life? The black shoe phase?

She advised me that painting a picture of shoes "shows desperation for subject matter" with that wry smile that curves slightly just at the corners of her mouth. It took me years to understand her irony and mischievous nature. Happy Mother's Day, dear one.

Thank You

A full week has passed since my Art Show/Party and I believe I am once again tethered to the Earth. A huge thank you to all the friends and relatives who helped me get ready for this event. I wasn't able to reconstruct the house, yard, have a little lunch and frame 27 paintings single handedly. Extreme gratitude for the help and good wishes of my friends. My weekend was a huge success and now many of my paintings are brightening the walls of other homes. I also can't forget to acknowledge Instructors Joe Paquet and Richard Abraham for making this possible.

As an aside to the show, the door was flung open to my art studio upstairs and a few forgotten paintings were unearthed, such as the one posted today. It certainly represents the season now--bright green with bits of lavender, pink and white flowers. I love the fragrant air and the color mixed into the greens.

Since the show, the bird series has started and another show booked at a local cafe. I guess I now have the wings--literally and figuratively--for the next level of painting. Thanks again...

Tonalism

Our world is such a wonderful spring green right now. Here is a reminder of what it looked like on Easter weekend just three weeks ago! I was excited to paint the brown tonal quality of the landscape, but wasn't ready for the shapeless bales that have been munched on all winter by my brother's horses. After 4 hours of working the bales, I finally painted from memory and achieved a believable rendition of their shape and  perspective in a gently rolling landscape.

Next week, May 1 & 2, I am having an Art Show Open House, that was suggested by friends who follow this blog. They wanted to see paint on canvas, instead of digital bits. I am grateful to all who are interested in seeing the results of my years of practice and what I think about. This painting thing is involuntary. I must paint to live, like all painters, whether or not anyone else pays attention.

Awestruck

While discussing this painting with Reverand Mother over lunch one day, the conversation turned to the fact that I like to show my paintings because I am awestruck and amazed that paint comes off the end of my brush like this in a relatively short time frame. This painting took about 3 hours. When I paint there is this element of self discovery and growing confidence. (But that came after years of darkness). Thanks and gratitude to Instructors Joe Paquet and Richard Abraham for making this possible.

The photography for this one was done in the excellent studio lighting of my car and the lines from a former painting add some interesting texture. NOTE TO SELF: No more car photography.

Trumpeter Swans

My nephew Brett and his wife Kathy live 1/2 mile from the Mississippi River near Monticello, MN. Based on its proximity to a nuclear energy plant, which pumps gallons of warm water into the river all year, hundreds of trumpeter swans gather to winter and feed in the warm water. There is signage, designated vantage points, and photo contests to honor these magnificent birds. This was painted from one of the photos that was submitted for the photo contest in 2009.

I selected this based on the degree of difficulty and novelty. I love the rhythm of the wings and connectedness of the birds. I thought Brett & Kathy would really appreciate this as a keepsake. Hope they like their present...