May 31, Who's There?

And this is another wolf~  those spaces around the actual animal are what I love. The shape of a wolfish ankle, that bend around the back leg, the curve along the flank~  there's a sweet space between the ears, and then the line of the ear itself.  And there's the length of that muzzle, and how it angles to the nostrils, and down to the lips~  ah!  SO much! It's all about form, isn't it?

Speaking of which, if you are wanting to do some painting with help, I've got some space left this coming Saturday, June 3 from 9:30-12:30 at my studio!  It's an Advanced Painting Workshop, where you have time and space to work and I will be coming around to poke you and prod you!  More info and sign up here!

6x6 acrylic on wood, $75, click here to purchase~

May 30, Black Wolf

This is a new direction for me, for a bit- painting on these little rounds and ovals of wood- the wood is so unfinished, when I gesso them it is so much like painting on velvet.  I do believe I'll have to try that at some point here as well.

3.5x5 acrylic on wood, $45 click here to purchase!

May 29, Winona's Bear

SO now I am suddenly finding myself feverishly rereading all the Native American literature I'd been engrossed in while getting my 7-12 LA license in the 90's-  Multiculturalism was the big theme and I read all the Louise Erdrich and Barbara Kingsolver and Don Miguel Ruiz I could find~ it was an incredible weekend and one of those ones that has infected my dreams in fantastic ways, and I don't want to let it go-
This is the bear painting I gave Winona when we said thank you!  And good bye, and see you soon!

4.5x4.5 acrylic on wood

May 27th, A Wolf for Winona!

SO... it's been a pretty busy day!  We came up to Detroit Lakes yesterday eve, leaving right from school just after lunch.  I drove with two fellow teachers and Fred, our brave driver, drove all six of our students up.  We got to White Earth at about 5, in time for dinner, and I was able to trace out this mural around 9 as the sun was setting-  I had a projector along and knew we wanted to include the thunderbird design in the center, though the wall was wider than we'd expected, so I went ahead and got that started figuring we could figure the rest out in the morning.  And Winona LaDuke, whose wall it was, asked for a couple wolves too.
SO I sat up last night looking through photos of wolves in my photo library, and found a number I liked and made a few small paintings to see what worked.  In the morning, I looked some more and painted a couple more, including a bear, because I thought, heck!  Why not a wolf AND a bear? Since I've been painting so many bears lately!

SO this photo shows the Honor The Earth shirt, designed by Sue of LittleRedFeatherDesign (follow the link to get your own!) with my two paintings, which led to the beginning of the big picture!

We started by painting in the black- I outlined my design ideas first-

We decided to connect the animals to the water and have water under and around them... with heart lines like the heart of the thunderbird-

And the final touch was to add the dragonflies up on each side flying out of the scene as messengers~

What an incredible opportunity~  I am so proud of all of us for getting this done today!

And now I am pooped~

Good night!

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may 25, Pucker-Up-Pup

Just because she looks like she's about to jump up and slam a smooch on ya!  These kinda coats just thrill me to paint, because you KNOW that's a beige-y, tan-y, taupe-y coat, and actually getting that color to show up is such a challenge!  The shadows hold that cooler violet flush, and the starkness of the sunlight on the lit side has to contrast accordingly~  really, such fun!  It's when I have to slow down and really focus that I can pay more attention to what I'm doing.  Sometimes when I get into a good painting rhythm I paint almost automatically, and it is good to jar myself somehow, twitch myself back into my body so I am more present.
Does that make any sense?

6x6 acrylic on wood, $75 click here to purchase!

May 24, Balanced Bear

I painted this fella while sitting at Art-A-Whirl this weekend, and it was purchased before I could even take it home! My friend Jemiah sent me the image after seeing the other Balance painting I'd finished~  there's something about the incongruity of a very large, rather heavy, massive beast perched on the tip of a perceptively smaller and more delicate dead branch that just makes my heart soar with optimism.  Such trust!  Such faith!  And that little smile on that really big head, nostrils wide open to scent whatever is coming in on the breeze~  that just looks intoxicating.  What a happy bear!

6x6 acrylic on wood, SOLD!

May 20, North Shore Lotus Position

Whew!  Sorry about not posting the last two days!  It was a great weekend at Art A Whirl!  This painting sold on Friday night, I am delighted to say, and I had numerous complimentary and illuminating conversations with patrons as they viewed my works!  And I am just realizing I never took a picture of my wall!  Shoot!
Anyway, one of the insights I received from many people was how iridescent my paintings appear, with the matte black of the gesso showing through the layers of acrylic.  And many people also commented on the variety of blues I use on the bears, and how they now see bears in a new way~
And I gave away a ton of my Moo cards too!
Now, for some rest!  Good night!

16x16 acrylic on cradled wood panel, SOLD

May 18, Bearfoot In The Snow

Because I so love those feet!  Look at that back foot, with its sole turning out.  Have you noticed that bears are slightly pigeon-toed?  I love them so much!  Such great spirits~
This one is just 8x10, on wood, and I'll have it with me this weekend at Art-A-Whirl!  I'm at the Grain Belt Bottling House, 79 13th Ave NE, from 5-10 Friday, noon-8 Sat and noon-5 Sunday! And I'll also have the other stuff in that other photo!  All for just $15 each!  Till I run out! 

 8x10 acrylic on wood, $160 click here to purchase now!

May 17, Prickly Bear

This one looks like he just got out of that little pond just visible behind him, and no one's helped him brush his fur out.
Poor bear!

6x6 acrylic on wood, $75 click here to nab this guy!

May 15th, Contemplation

This bear is just so tangible, so tactile~  I kinda wanna pull her off the canvas and cuddle with her!  She's got that Pooh-Bear/Eyore essence going on.  My favorite dog, Jojo, was an old black cocker spaniel with enormous feet, who was very much into sitting like this, just being.  He was a great teacher.  SO is this bear!
Come see her in person this weekend at Art-A Whirl!  I'll be at the Grain Belt Bottling Plant (79 13th Ave NE)!  My paintings really need to be seen in person-  the black parts are matte black, with the acrylic paint contrasting with shine~

And she has that little yellow spark of knowledge, just in front of her nose!

20X20 acrylic on canvas, $800 click here to purchase or reserve this painting and talk no interest payment plans with me!

May 13, Balance Bigger

I had an incredible massage today-  it's amazing how much the body can feel when you have someone rubbing heated stones all over it...  wow~ and at the end, my new best friend said "2017 is the year of Balance-" and I kinda twitched because BALANCE was the word I had found on Thursday morning in my writing for the day, and it's what I've been focusing on here at the Art Colony this week, and it's what she suggested I look at in the rest of this year ahead of us.
And I had painted this bear earlier Thursday morning, and I did this version yesterday...
I love how she's standing there, poised and balanced, with her eyes shut and her nose WIDE open!

Lots of art to show you!  I'll post more!

20x20 acrylic on canvas, $800 click here to own this lush splendor!

May 11, Bruin Perch

Thank you so much all of you lovely people who sent me responses to my work!  Wow~ sometimes painting can be a bit lonely, and you do wonder if anyone is actually looking at your work or not~
I'm in Grand Marais, MN this week with my mom, for our annual Painting Retreat at the Art Colony~ (by the way, I'm teaching a class here in June if you want to join me!  More info HERE)

 I couldn't sleep this morning because the sun got in bed with me at 5:30, so I went for a short jog to check out the beaver lodge and the Artist's Point (chilly at 44 degrees) and came back and painted a bear.  I never really know what I'm going to paint when I come up, but bears do seem to be relevant to me at the moment.  This one has a slight grin as she balances on the log and rock, her nostrils open wide to the breeze and scent of spring~

8x10 acrylic on wood, $175 click HERE to own this dramatic piece~  

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May 9, Bruin Shape

There's something so formidable and physical about the shape of a bear.  Those very specific curves and edges that make you understand "BEAR" and not "COCKER SPANIEL", for example.  Though I do believe they are incredibly close in proportion~
And hey!  I do have a favor to ask you!  I am working on the writing part of my Art Business, you know- the all-important Art Statement and Artist's Bio and Philosophy and all that-  I'm making up a short survey to send out, and in the meantime, I would LOVE to hear any comments you might have about my work-
More specifically, what do you notice first when you look at my work?  This can be one word or a paragraph!  Thank you in advance for your help!

6x6 acrylic on wood, AUCTION!! 

$35 starting bid for this one!  Click here to enter the fun!

Max And The Wax

It really is helpful to look at your images from a distance, even if that distance is a day or two or a laptop instead of in person-  because now I can see what was buggin me about this one- his eyebrow is not as apparent as I want it to be and there's something not quite right about the angle of his nose, and his neck is more disjointed than I'd realized.  I am mostly happy with the skin tones and the gesture of the hand with the flame, and the shadows. The challenge of painting a different subject is that I don't always know what the tricky parts are until I'm able to look at it from a distance, like now.
Max is heating up the little copper scoop for drawing wax lines on eggs for psyanky~ just before Easter.  Quite a lovely mess!

8x8 in progress

May 2, Blue Neck Snuggie

Another attempt at the boy-o~
He has the greatest expressions!  But maybe that's true of all 8 year olds...  they are capable of such extremes of emotion, and when he is upset about something, if I keep my head and gently tease him or tickle him or somehow get him off his passionate angst, I can trip him into laughing as jubilantly as he was steaming a minute ago.
Still working at it~

6x6 acrylic on wood

May 1, Goat Ears

And now it's May~ for our family, it means the Mayday Parade next Sunday at Powderhorn Park!  I hope you have some happy way of celebrating the start of spring too.  I do appreciate Minnesota for that fact, that we have seasons.
And this is another goat for Art4Shelter!  Love the ears flapping around~

5x7 acrylic on paper, $35 but you have to be at Art4Shelter on May 10th to get it!