1/31 Portal by Bde Mkay Ska

I love how the trees bend over the road, and that far distant space becomes a whole into another dimension... or just the farther bit along the road there.  The mystery of distance, of what lies just around the corner... that's one reason painting is so fun.  You get to make your own worlds~
I'm having some fun playing with thinner layers of paint...
I'm also working on a larger piece that's taking a bit more futzing, cuz it's people...
and they is HARD!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here to purchase!

1/30 Duluth Sunset

Yes, it is very cold here- yes I am wearing a number of layers, and relaxing in front of our fireplace watching "A Fish Called Wanda" because I can. And yes, I am still painting sunsets from this weekend!  Just incredible!
And hey!  Its a First Friday Painting Party this weekend at the studio!  6:30-9!
And I have a couple spots left in Saturday's class if you were wondering!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here to purchase!

Max's Duluth Sunset Shot

Max took this photo from a pull-over spot just before Brighton Beach as we headed home from the GLA on Saturday evening- he was looking in the side mirror a lot, commenting on how beautiful it was~  "Holy COW!" kinda thing...
It is rather chilly here- and so we have no school for the next two days.  We're still loving our gas fireplace but I'm feeling a little worried and think we should turn on the good old reliable furnace.  I'm also thinking we do need to have some kind of furnace in the house, and that this beautiful fireplace won't work be as all-encompassing as I'd hoped...
This one is a 9x12-  I'm rather pleased with it, though I still consider it a "study", so I'm making this one an auction as well~

9x12 acrylic on wood

$216 ...

Though yes, let's do an auction!

$60 starting bid-

click here to bid!

1/27 Snow Rhythm, Wolf Ridge AUCTION

We had a super day yesterday! Got the dogs in the car and headed up to Gooseberry Falls, where we traipsed around in the snow all the way to the great lake and Max and Duane poked at the ice and the rocks and I went a bit mommy on them ("get away from there!  You'll fall in!!!" kinda thing...) and then we popped the frosty dogs back in the car and went to the visitor center (GIFT SHOP) where I cleaned the snow out of Teddy's toes and left the dogs in the car so we could trot to the top of the falls.  JUST gorgeous!!!  But I don't have a finished painting of those photos yet...
Then we stopped by David Gilsvik's studio to pick up a painting and were delighted with his space and his root cellar, and then Max and I went to the Great Lakes Aquarium where I took even MORE photos (and we hit the GIFT SHOP) and then we came home and made dinner and were in bed by 10~ and today we head home!
This painting is another indoor plein air painting out my dorm window at Wolf Ridge! So yes, I didn't actually paint it this morning...
And I have a NEW Painting Lessons Session starting NEXT SATURDAY MORNING!  Click here for more info on that!  Just a few spaces left~

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Click here to join the auction!

1/26 Pines Out The Window

Ahhhh~  snow, light, shade, branches making shapes... what more could I ask for?
If you paint something while looking at it through a window because it was minus 40 below wind-chill, does that still count as plein air?

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

1/25 Wolf Shy Pink

Okay, yes it is actually Saturday now, and I didn't get this posted last night-  forgive me-  I will post another today!  This is a wolf from our zoo again, but the color of the snow is approximately the colors of what I'm seeing where I am right now!  This morning it is -6 degrees, cold enough that the dogs can only be out for a short time before their tender feet start freezing... what do wolves do?
More later!  Lots of stuff I'm working on painting at the mo...

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here to purchase!

1/24 Wolf in the Wood

Good morning!  I'm a bit further up north, enjoying some actual sub-zero temps and getting dressed to go out and play in them.  I'm at Wolf Ridge in Finland, MN this weekend with our 7th graders, for a winter adventure camp-  we had a bit of an adventure on the drive up, with our first bus losing a belt, requiring an hour and a half wait for the second, which didn't have a working defrost for the windshield, which meant we took it in turns to clear it for the driver, who is close to retirement and who felt terrible for all the trouble with the busses-  the kids were actually really great about it!
SO this is a wolf from the MN zoo, not one that I saw up here- but I'm really enjoying these!
And a photo of me in my son's super warm hat, and the view from the ridge, and the moon through the trees last night!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here to purchase

1/23 Wolf Wary

And this one was really fun to paint!  I think I got the shape of that head, with that sharp, intelligent muzzle~  and the background was so fun to play with!  More of these, I hope!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

purchase this one NOW!

1/22 Wolf Inspection

Maybe it was the wolf moon this weekend that's inspired me-  maybe its a bit of the feel of a need to connect with my wilder self-  maybe it's time for me to go into the woods a bit and play outside and see what it's like out there....

This one's an auction-  I struggled with that profile-  want to keep playing with that shape...

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Click HERE to join the bidding!

1/21 Wolf Glance

So.....  I painted a wolf today...
Kinda like it~

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

click here for purchase info!

1/20 Winter Blues AUXCTION

You know, I think I'm just gonna not worry about posting every day.
Winter is tough. It's cold, which is tiring, and sleeping is a lovely way to spend your time. And yes, I am painting too~
This one is another near abstraction, to me anyway.  It is possibly a study for a larger work-  we'll see where I go with this idea-  It's all that color that shows up in the snow, you know!  Just amazing.  And we have more sunshine the last few days, which always helps with the energy, and I just got a new pair of snow boots too- going on an adventure this week with my 7th graders up to Wolf Ridge and needed better boots-  Maybe I'll do some boot paintings too~
And thank you all of you who've been jumping into the auctions!  I'd really rather these paintings go to people who'd like them, and it also helps me contribute to the DNR!
Wahoo!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Click here to WIN!

1/17 Cedar Lake Morning AUCTION!

Another one- it's so pleasant and unrushed, soothing even, to drive to work along the lakes.  Especially when it's a sunny morning, and when I can take pics out the car window one-handed.  Beats driving to work on 94 any day!
And I have to say I went a bit more abstract with this one, though the ice on the bottom right really did have a lovely teal green sheen~  and the fun thing about these paintings is this could be water anywhere!
Oh, and guess what?

It's another AUCTION!

6x8 acrylic on canvas

$45 starting bid!

click HERE to get in on the fun!

1/16 Tree Arch, Fort Snelling AUCTION

So I finally found the Do Not Call number that you're supposed to call so your cell phone won't get robocalls (Add your phone number for free by visiting donotcall.gov, or calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register (TTY: 1-866-290-4236).)  So I tried calling, and of course there was a message saying this won't work until the federal shutdown is over.  I think it took that for me to really recognize that YES this is a BIG PROBLEM. The longer this goes on, the more trouble we're gonna be in when it is finally resolved.  Lots of people are not being paid, but being expected to still show up to work.  This is ridiculous! And it sounds like most of them aren't sure they will be compensated for the work they've done this past 26 days...

 That's why I'm posting these paintings of the Fort Snelling park, down below the airport there. Because we need our DNR funds to come back, so these can be taken care of.  We need to have a government that works. Not one that goes out for fast food, as if it's a novelty- treating a supposedly highly esteemed recognition as a joke.
Ack.
I don't often get too political here because I'm not always sure I understand all the underlying stuff, but I do know that it's time for this shutdown to be over, and that I appreciate the leaders who are not giving in this time...
To be clear, I AM a progressive Democrat~
And I'm donating half of whatever these landscape paintings of January sell for to our DNR-
XO!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid

Click here to join the AUCTION!

1/15 Morning Light, Cedar Lake

And another grey morning in the great midwest!  I'm just really wanting some snow. It's been such a grey winter, it's starting to have an effect on my emotions.  When the sun comes out, it's like a huge event!  Everyone wants to be outside absorbing the rays~
This one is another auction!  Thanks so much for bidding on them!  It's so fun at the end to find out who's won!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Click HERE to join in the frenzy!

1/14 Great Weekend!

Wow!  Thank you everyone who came to our last show at the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization on Saturday!  It exceeded our highest expectations and Max was so excited he couldn't control Oscar the Otter on the 2nd show and needed reinforcements from the crowd!  It is such a delight to be able to perform silly little educational puppet shows like this with my family~  thank you!
And I have been painting, yes, though I just wanted to repost this sweet otter who sold on Saturday to a young collector-  thank you Oliver and Reid!

6x12 SOLD!

And I wanted to also post the video of our show~  this is from November, actually, but it will give you the idea!

Click HERE to watch it!

1/11 Pink Cedar Lake AUCTION

Sounds like a cocktail, dunit?
Not sure I got enough warm colors in this... it is a bit pink...
Hope you are enjoying your Vitamin D!
And this is another AUCTION!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Click HERE to join in the FUN!

1/10 Below Fort Snelling

Yes there's more shadows out there- it's a bit of an abstract puzzle, painting these... I'm looking at the lights and darks and deciding what to put in and what to put out.  Sometimes it helps to paint them upside down too...
Don't forget to come on Saturday!  We are rehearsing at our house tonight!  Otterways and Waterways at the MWMO 11-2 on the 12th!

6x6 acrylic on panel

$75

click here to purchase!

1/9 Coniferous Light (auction!)

White has so many colors in it. Especially snow white. Especially with shadows. In Minnesota, it is most beautiful when there is snow on the ground and it is sunny, and those sunniest days are usually the coldest. Snow is amazing at giving color to shadows~  serious fun, folks!
Oh speaking of serious fun, do please come see us this Sat (Jan 12th, 11 -2pm!) at the MWMO in NE Mpls for our final "Otterways and Waterways" event!  It has been a fantastic run and we've loved having the otters so available, and it's always a joy to perform with my family-  we have two puppet shows at least-  Max really wants to also perform "The Mitten" so we'll see how that goes...
Oh, and this is another auction!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid for auction, or Buy Now for $75!

Click HERE to join in the fun!

Stoodley Pike, Todmorden, Yorkshire

I was hoping I was on a roll again, and could keep posting every day... I would like to get 365 posts in a row, at some point.  Wouldn't that be something?
But I was pooped yesterday by 7pm- it's funny how much energy playing with kids and art all day can take!
So this is my landscape painting I started at my Holiday Landscape One-Day Class back in December.  The little pokey thing way back on the down is Stoodley Pike, a very big and familiar landmark visible from all over the place when we go visit our friends in England.  Here's a link with more info about it, because I find it fascinating.  Duane and Jonny walked up to it on one of our last days there, in June of 2017.  I wanted to paint a series of paintings of it, because it's just so obvious and always there.
So there are more in the works!
I'm particularly happy with the variety of vegetation I was able to depict in the foreground.  This photo was taken on my daily walk up behind the Old Chapel School House where we were staying.  It's an Airbnb!  If you ever want to stay there, I'd highly recommend it!

12x24 acrylic on 1.5 inch cradled wood

$576

click here for purchase info~

Fort Snelling, Sunday Afternoon

Oops I meant FRIDAY afternoon!  Have to change that one... loving the sunlight on the snow lately!
Hope you are having a great Sunday!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

Check out the action auction HERE!

Driving Past Bde Mka Ska, Sunset

Another winter driving one~  did I mention my secret for getting these shots?  Really technical, you know-  I hold my phone in the direction of the window and hit the button and take a bunch of photos and then go through them and pick something that looks like it will work.  There's that glory of light through branches that I love~ and the colors of sunset on snow~
Yay!
And this one is another auction, just because~

6x6 acrylic on panel

$35 starting bid!

Click HERE to join in the fun!

1/4 2019! First post of the year!

It is a little disconcerting how having an unscheduled day really makes me lose track of time and I don't seem to get the stuff done that I need to get done...  as an artist, a creative person, when I was younger I greatly resisted the idea of a SCHEDULE because that seemed so constrained, so conservative, so... like my PARENTS.  Ack. 

But now, as an adult artist and creative person, who also teaches kids and adults, I am much more aware of how a schedule can help me make sense of my day and I can get more things done.  It's kinda crazy but it works!

Of course, there's also been the small lovely fact that Max has been off these two weeks too, and so it's been a delight doing random fun things!  like going and getting his passport renewed, and depositing checks, and picking up medicine for the cat...

Anyway, I was finally able to spend some time yesterday working on what I'm hoping will become an On-Line Painting Class, putting together some videos...  we'll see, and I was also able to do a 6x6 daily painting!  YAY!  That felt GOOD!  Just to paint something that I wanted to paint- so I'll be auctioning this one off, with the hope that this will be a generous new year!

And if you aren't on my Painting Lessons newsletter but have taken a class from me, do feel welcome to join us at the First Friday Painting Party tonight at my studio, #210 at the Ivy Building!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$35 starting bid!

The first AUCTION of this year!

Give it a go and have fun!