Portrait #1

The blog appears to have been abandoned in February. I have been feverishly working on a portrait as a portrait for paddle barter. It has consumed my painting time and even cut into my planned time as I carry the panel looking for various light sources and angles to see what changes need to be made each week.I am becoming obsessive about it. It was completed on Wednesday and then on Saturday morning I started repainting again...

As a break from Ron the Painting, I turned the easel on another elusive image--my Amazon parrot. As many times as I have tried to get "his character" in paint, I have failed pretty much every time. This is a 15 minute sketch in grey tone that shows his fluffy-slouchy-on-the-perch mode.

Make no mistake about my painting productivity. I may not have much to show for it. but there is some paint being flung around. Some version of Ron the Painting will appear in the next post...

Extreme Safety Precautions

What do safety glasses and hard hats have to do with this painting? They are loosely connected if you hear me out on this thing. One November Saturday I came down the Bruce Vento Nature Sancutary path to find 4 mini-vans parked in a circle and about 20 ardent people dressed in fluorescent orange vests, safety glasses, hard hats and rubber gloves. They were moving through this grassy area in the painting and stroking the grasses with their gloved hands. My curiosity was piqued and I found the only friendly person in the group to ask what they were doing. "Collecting seed," was her curt answer. Then I asked about the gear and she retorted, "For safety purposes [idiot]." With that I backed away and left for a quiet corner of the sanctuary. So when you look at the painting above, you see a mono-culture of little blue stem (Minnesota Native Plant) in a flat perspective, and when I look at it, I am amused by the Seed Gatherer sighting (a paid position, I might add). It appeared to be a covert government operation and native seed gathering is one covert operation I could get behind.

Light and Shadow

 I have painted many times at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, but this particular January morning I saw a beautiful play of sparkling light and contrasting shadow effects that would only last for 30 minutes or so. This panel is small, but in under an hour, I captured the sparkling effect of the morning and the character of the bluff.

Painting is a lot like golf. A good passage here, a good composition there--keeps you coming back. If I knew now how much time, effort and tears it would take to get to this painting, would I do it again? Oh, probably...YES!

Pines

Here is a lovely poem by friend and Isanti-ite, Sharon K. Sheppard. You will see my paintings and her poems paired again soon. She has inspired my interest in poets Mary Oliver and James Wright. And without further ado, here is why I paint pine trees in winter.

Pines

Have you noticed
How the tall pines
Cast their long blue veils
Over the pale snow, lying like
Streamers of shadow as
Still, deep, and unbroken
As a mountain lake,
But non-reflective?

It is as though
Reclining,
Bare and bereft
In the chill morning air,
they cannot afford the loss
Of even one tiny
Candle's worth
Of light.

Copyright   Sharon K. Sheppard

Yellow Boat

First of all, I loved paddling in the yellow boat on Lake Superior and was caught in the act of admiring the brilliant pure Cad Orange colored lichen colonies living on this outcropping. And secondly, I found equal pleasure in painting the same subject. Simplifying the rock structure and recreating the undulating blue waters of the large inland sea with color variations and little hook shapes in perspective all the while remembering the sun on my face and the movement of the boat as I looked up in amazement at this colorful cliff called Gold Point which is located a 1/2 mile north of Split Rock Lighthouse. This is my largest epic painting to date at 24"X30". Making marks to represent moving water is intoxicating...

Note to Self

One cannot have enough pairs of boots or pictures of boots for that matter.

Note to self: take note of the rich color in cast shadows. This one was a lovely dark purply lavender color cast on the painted green floor.

Holy Night at the Chicken Coop

Thought a Christmas post should include Holy Night at the Chicken Coop. This was painted 3 years ago on Christmas Eve by the farm porch light. Inside the little building was RooSir and his mate Girly. The wires overhead were encrusted with ice and made a nice reflection within the sphere of the yard light. The yellow lights in the distance were not the Wisemen approaching on tractors, but a hog operation.

I have always been intrigued with night paintings. Darkness solves unity problems and allows for a single brush stroke to define detail and lend complexity.

I have been thinking that this title should turn into a story about what the chickens inside are discussing on Christmas Eve. (Has proven to be a fun lunch topic with Reverand Mother already). I would love an opportunity to paint such outlandish chicken characters as demonstrated by touring the State Fair Poultry Exhibit. (Wish I had the photo of GitcheeGumeeGuy with rooster from a State Fair outing to insert here). Watch for future posts of chicken sketches and story material that is part of the 2010 goals to complete.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.