Up the Road From Theo Wirth

I already miss Pete Seeger-  one of the best ones~
SO this is from a photo taken from the steering wheel on my drive home, through  Theo Wirth Park around 4pm on a January afternoon~

I had fun with the trees-  hints of purple with both phlao blues that I love, blue shade AND green!

And this one is available for auction or BUY NOW!  Just click HERE!

Cedar Lake, January Morning

I've been re-reading my Collected Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which I've had since high school, and just LOVING it, and then sitting up on Sunday nights to watch the new PBS version~  if you haven't seen it, you MUST!  This is a younger Holmes with a sense of humor and a cell phone…  really fun to see how it all gets retranslated into our current social world!
And part of what I love about Sherlock is his power of observation, which should be the super-power of every artist!  To know what you are drawing or painting, you need to observe it closely-  REALLY look at it and see all the details and nuances!    Even if you are observing the aftermath in a photo, like these little lake paintings I've been doing lately-  I have to take the photo as I rush by but then I can look closely at what I've captured…

I am having such fun with this simple palette, as well!  And keeping the blue separate from the yellow so I don't end up with a green sky…
SUCH fun!  You can click HERE to bid or buy!  6x6 acrylic on panel ready to hang, starts at $25, buy it for $65!

Painting Class Wed Night!

Here's a little showcase of our first night, Wed!  And what a lively bunch!

We have a couple mangos, a mug or two, christmas ornaments and a brown jug!  Well done all!

Arched Branch, Lake Calhoun

Maybe this is turning into 30 Lake Views in 30 Days here….  hmmm…..  I do love the variety of rich greys-  the luminous snow-  this is why I can live in Minnesota in the winter.  Because the snow glows at night-  it is never really dark once it snows….  In late October and early November it is the most depressing because the dark has no relief~
But NOW!  The sun is up more!

And, once again, you can click HERE to bid or buy!  6x6 acrylic on panel-

Lake Calhoun, Wednesday Afternoon, January 2014

Yes, I am really enjoying the tints and hues of winter-  so much grey, but it can be pearlescent, or moonstone, or concrete... grey has a wide range of emotions~

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to buy for $65, or to BID!

Dang!  SO much fun!
Speaking of FUN,  Painting Lessons for Jan/Feb are FULL with a wait-list, and the next sessions will be April/May~  and the 30 Cats in 30 Days Project is gearing up, and so are the Art Shanties Projects!  We'll be out there for our 6th Anniversary on Groundhog's Day!  White Bear Lake this year!

Lake Calhoun, Jan 2014

It is so satisfying to paint these little buggers!  They are small, but allow me to play with shapes, edges, and color in huge ways!  I am really wanting to get to the punches of color, to trust that instinct that says YES!  THROW THAT IN THERE!!!  Kinda abstracting the reality a bit….

WAY too much fun to be legal!

And as it is Wednesday, this is up for auction!  6x6 acrylic on panel, $25 bid to start, or $65 to buy!

CLICK HERE!

Pink Sunset, Lake Calhoun

Good morning!
Here is today's auction painting, from some photos taken at random out the car window as I drove past Lake Calhoun in the evening this winter-  I am really playing with the negative space, the edges of the shapes that make up sky and tree...
SO fun!
It is available NOW when you click HERE for $65!  Or you can bid and maybe get it for $25!
Give it a shot!  You know you want to!  6x6 acrylic on panel~

Have a lovely day!

Hidden Falls, 12/13

The next auction for the week!  Wahoo!  This is from a photo taken a couple weeks ago on that last 30 degree day when everyone went out walking and we took our friends along with us (thanks Jan and Dave!) for a lovely afternoon walk down by the river at Hidden Falls park where the Barebones Halloween Show happens~  it was wonderful!

And  you can CLICK HERE to bid, starting at $25, or buy now for $65!  Wahoo~

Jeebo

So yesterday was Jeebo's final day.

She is my longest-lived cat to date, and joined my life back in  2001~ I'd gone to the pound  thinking maybe they'd have a parrot because my ex ran off with our cockatoo, and somehow found myself in the cat rooms at the Golden Valley Humane Society.  I sat on the floor and a skinny little black cat came up to me, purred, climbed up one arm, across my shoulders and down the other arm to the floor, where she then sat and looked at me.  I was surprised, to say the least, but sure I didn't want to get a cat.  So I left the room and walked around a bit more.  I couldn't get over her immediate enjoyment of my person, however, and was unable to talk myself out of adopting her so she ended up coming home that day.
Jeebo had apparently lived in a closet after having two litters before she was a year old (or something like that) and was happy in my big house.  After being neutered she grew very long fur and every year I would have her shaved in the spring, and sometimes the fur would grow back in silver.  She was a delight to have in my life, with more than seven toes on some paws, and a squeaky little meow that belied her density.  Often we would think there was a human coming down the stairs, just to realize it was only Jeebo...
We'll miss her solid weight in the bed at night, and her squeaky little meow in the morning~

Stepping From The Water

Yes, I am still loving the moose...  and there is just something about how this one is glancing back over his shoulder as he emerges from the pond, as if he is quite aware of the observer and is being somewhat shy....

This is the first auction of the week!  I figured I'd start the new year by keeping this up-  and posting at least two small paintings per week, along with a few drawings and give-aways for my loyal followers!  So go ahead and click HERE to bid, starting at $25 or you can BUY NOW if you are the first to click through for the current value of $65!

Happy New Year!

Roadside Trees #8, Pilot Knob, Rosemount

Thank you again for your comments and suggestions!  Here is another painting of the trees on the drive back to South Minneapolis from Rosemount, taken on Christmas Day in the early evening as we headed back home with a car full of new presents~  I love the light at that time of day, the intense blue of the sky, the tones of gold and red in the trees~  

There is just SO much life in those branches, stretching, scratching, reaching into the sky!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid or BUY NOW for $65!

 And I thought I'd include another painting from my collection, from 2001 as well, though later than the Faith Lowell purchase, although now I am not sure... funny how time does that.  Keep good records!  Another new year's resolution for me...
I bought this one in Puerto Rico on vacation with my youngest sister, newly divorced, feeling somewhat free.  We'd wandered around the walled city of Old San Juan and in a small art gallery I found this painting, along with several others by the same artist, but it was the tree in this one I loved.  The negative space punching through the leaves, the great active edges defining the clouds and the further back paler green of the background trees...

Can you see how I've been influenced by my loves?