May 31, Wind from the West

 Oh my goodness. We just spent a weekend on the south shore of Lake Superior, and it was beautiful. I've been stressed (really?  Who hasn't?) and we left on Saturday and I kept falling asleep in the car, and when we got to our friends' house, I was still pooped and ended up napping even more. I think that's my stress reaction-  to get tired and need sleep. Sometimes a nap can heal it, but this was a much deeper tired. 

And then, there was the lake.

And it just stayed where it was, and changed constantly.

Dang.

8x16 acrylic on cradled wood panel

$256

click here to buy~

Me painting on the back deck at Jule's and Jeff's paradise~

You can see the lake back there!

May 27 Sunrise to the East

 I do hope that you are having or are heading into having a lovely relaxed down-time kind of weekend. As a teacher, this weekend always represents the ending run of a long year, and this has been one of the longest I can remember. The kids are excited and crazy, the teachers are exhausted and overwhelmed with end of the year stuff, and I count my blessings as an art teacher who has her own room and can spend her time spinning through the masses of items and materials in there at this time of year.

It's all good.

Really.  And this is the last of the little pile of paintings I did sitting in front of the patio door on that Monday morning a few weeks ago, as the lake breathed the morning air back at me.

12x6 acrylic on wood

$155

click here to purchase

May 26 Sunrise with Dark Clouds

And yes, here is another of the Sealed-Raw-Wood Plein-Air paintings from May 10th, and there's one more I'll post tomorrow. The idea of painting Plein air is to try to capture that moment in time, which is what most artists are attempting to do when they paint a scene or anything based on reality. Time keepers, time treasurers, time freezers?  I'm not sure but we'll find a good name!

12x6 acrylic on wood

$145

click here to purchase~

Sunrise and the Pink Line

 Wow! I got such a lovely response yesterday on Instagram about The Pink Line-  I may have to do some more of those on sealed raw wood- big brushes, baby!

This one is also from that series, painted looking out at the lake from our deck at the East Bay Hotel~ the light is always changing. Living by a lake must be a magical experience...

6x12 acrylic on sealed raw wood

$145

click here to purchase~

May 24th, The Pink Line

 On our last morning in Grand Marais, I spent some time painting a series of small Plein Air Paintings on our balcony of Lake Superior.  I had intended to spend some time doing Plein Air the entire week and it is amazing how time disappears on you when you think you've got a lot of it...  that's another thing I'd like to tell a younger self... there's just not as much as you think!  Don't you dare be bored!

Anyway, this is the last one I painted, trying to get that  faint pink line on the horizon.  This is painted on a 6x12 raw wood panel that has been sealed before painting so the pale wood shows through instead of my usual black.

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

click here to nab!

May 23, "Saturday"

 This is a commission I've been working on- did I mention how much I love painting black animals? This magnificent creature was so fun to paint, and I had a hard time figuring out the background that would best fit her majesty. I think this one is the perfect answer. I included an earlier background below~

Oh and the "30 Dogs in 30 Days" project will be set in August this year! So do start thinking about your dogs and send me your photos!

Wahoo!

6x12 acrylic on wood

sold

an earlier rendition...

May 22, Hebden Beck

I painted this for a demo in class this morning, letting my students choose which photo they most wanted to see me paint. We were looking for something with a lot of green, and as I painted this, I don't know that there's as much green as I thought... and I was wanting to paint some water since that's what I'm obsessed with at the moment.  This is a photo from 2017 in England, visiting friends for puppet stuff, from a walk along the little river in Hebden Bridge near where the workshops for the Hebden Handmade Parade were being held, and I've always wanted to paint it!  So YAY!

I do think it feels "right" for my memories of the day and the place.  That's the fun part about painting- you're trying to suggest an emotion or memory, I think, rather than an actual depiction of the photo.

I like it!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$162

click here to buy!

May 21, Rocks Under My Feet

 This one is another exploration of the color of water, and especially that greenish tint it has over the rocks.  There isn't a lot of seaweed around here, the water is clear, so the color must come from sky reflections and the depth of water. And when the sky is overcast, there's a lot of grey~ 

Good thing I like grey~

I titled this one "Rocks Under My Feet" because they are there and are what holds me up even though it might look like I'm standing on the water.

16x8 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

$256

click here to purchase!

May 19th, "Spring Morning on the Lake"

 My son got his first COVID shot today, and was just asking me if he still has to go to school tomorrow...

God, I love that kid so much! He's 12, as of March 31, and he's been saying recently as well "I thought I was still ELEVEN!" I'm not sure where the confusion there lies, except that it has been a crazy year well worth forgetting.  Though we can't do that because there's been an awful lot of glory as well~

Ah controversy~ what would life be like without a little drama now and then?

Like a sunset, with dramatic clouds, and a blast of light streaming down the waves...? 

12x36 acrylic on wood

$972 including tax and shipping

click here to buy~

May 17th, From the Other Side

 This is a little view of my favorite (land) model but from the other side, in front of the East Bay Hotel.  

I'm rather taken by the funky clouds streaking across the sky....

I'm making this one an AUCTION!  for FUN!  Because I'd like to actually sell something this month!

Wahoo!

And with auctions, you can usually get them for less than the actual value, so keep an eye out!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$35 starting AUCTION!!!

click here to join the fun!

May 14th, Sun Spot

 This is a 9x12 of our little pug Bunny, and I currently have it up for sale on my Art-A-Whirl Store! This is a weekend long event that has typically been the start of my Art Fair Season, and this year I am not going to be anywhere in person again, and so I have opted for the On-Line Store version here! Most of my work has a sale price on it, for this weekend ONLY so take a look!  This painting is usually $216 but for this weekend only it is $175!

I don't know if you are around pugs much, but they are utterly charming little beasts, and we are all enamored with our Bunny. I love painting the little cuss. She's lying on top of our kitchen heating vent in this painting, and in a sunny spot, so she's getting warmed from all sides at once. That's why she's smiling...

Can you tell?

9x12 acrylic on wood 

$216 usually

THIS WEEKEND ONLY $175!!!

Click here! and scroll down!

FREE SHIPPING for this painting!

May 13th Sunrise Highlights

This one is still from March, because I haven't had the time to take all my newest paintings' photos in good light yet, and plus it is really hard to get back into the groove when you've been gone for five days. Especially when you haven't gone anywhere in over a year. And when it's the first time you have been away from your best friend and your son in over a year. And I missed our pug too...

So anyway, I'm happy to be home, and I'm still fascinated by water and all its colors and I hope to continue to play with the colors I love, and I had Duane take a photo of me holding this painting so you could get a sense of its size...

Thank you!

6x18 acrylic on canvas

$243

click here to make this your own!

me in our kitchen, holding the painting so you know about how big it is!

 

May 12 Art4Shelter is TODAY!!!!

 What are you doing reading my blog?  Get over to Art4Shelter's site NOW and find something fun! 

5x7 acrylic on paper

$35

at ART4Shelter!

May 11, Sky Blue Water

 I never have tried painting clouds AND water. My challenge to myself was to keep trying to see the water and its colors, and then I had an amazing morning with incredible clouds reflected in unbelievably still water!

What could I do?  I had to paint it!

So I tried!

15x30 acrylic on canvas

$900

click here for purchase info!

May 9th, At the Art Colony this week!

 So, I am pretty darn pooped right now, and am about to trot off to bed, but I've not been posting because of how busy I've been so I thought I should show you what I've been doing!

I've been painting all day every day since Thursday.  And all the paintings are for sale, so let me know if you're interested in any of them!

Wahoo!

May 4th! Another one for Art4Shelter!

 Next week on Wednesday you can start buying fantastic pieces of art for just $35 for a 5x7 and $90 for an 8x10!!!!

Here's another one I've been working on!

5x7 acrylic on paper

$35

only available at Art4Shelter!

Bear Lipped for Art4Shelter!

 And here's another one I sent to Art4Shelter!  The fundraiser starts on May 12th at noon I think!  And you can go on and buy as many pieces as you can!  Be careful though!  I had some nice ones in my basket but they were snatched out before I could buy them!

My recommendation is BUY it right away if you know you want it!

May 2, Minnehaha Creek and 16th Ave

 This piece is (hopefully!) hanging at TractorWorks Gallery in the North Loop, at the OPM Member Show~ whew! "Outdoor Painters of MN" is the group, and this is from a piece I painted last fall on site while standing literally (or is it figuratively?) IN the creek. I love the bridges. They are solid, old looking, and look like they belong there. And like they'll be there for a long long time. I like that.

So this one is the studio version I painted from the "In The Field" one, which is where you do a "field study" (sometimes while actually IN a field) and then bring it back and create a larger painting in the studio.  At least, that's my understanding of what I was told.

I'm pretty happy with it. It is always tough leaving them alone- like getting those leaves all along the bottom was tough. I wanted them to feel like very quick brush strokes, and it was hard to know when to just stop. Which is usually sooner rather than later.

12x24 acrylic on canvas

$648

click here for more info!

Sunrise on Northern Shores

 Happy first of May! It sure felt like it in Minneapolis! Actually, it felt more like June 1st with over 80 degrees... our poor pug was panting all day, and Max was complaining after lounging in the sun for an hour, saying it feels like when we're in Florida, and he loves it there but not here. We did remedy it a bit with the sprinkler for running through out front.

I'll be hanging this painting along with a few more of my newest pieces at Diamond's tomorrow for a group show I'm calling "Nature Observed". I've got four of my Paint Love students joining me in the exhibition, with some of their favorite pieces as well. And it'll be Art-A-Whirl the weekend of May 13th so I wanted some fun stuff up for that- not sure exactly what will be happening around town, and I have an on-line shop I've set up through NEMAA's online thingie...

I like the direction this work is going~

20x16 acrylic on wood

$700 tax included

click here to purchase~