Kat Corrigan: Paint!

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Rose Wolf

This one is from a few days ago, and I think it is more iconic than realistic. This wolf lives at the MN Zoo, and there was snow on the ground but I chose to make it a bit pinker than it was in reality... I like that face and those eyes~ intent, focussed...

Just like me today, right? Intent, focussed...

Yup.

I'm so glad it's Thursday!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Music of Nine Mile Creek

Funny how it can never be so hard that it can't get harder, right?

I suppose it's also true that it can never be so beautiful that it can't get even more gorgeous?

I'm really working to keep my mind on those things I am so grateful for. Smiles and laughter, kindness. An unexpected pile of art magazines and blank panels~ your kid expressing how much he likes spending time with you.

It's that key to shifting your perspective. Dark to light. Heavy to light~ bring it all to the light~

I kinda like this one- they feel a bit more abstract to me, more the way the water felt when I was there painting it~

I'm so lucky!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

click to buy~

Monday, October 5, 2020

Moving Water

I did head back to Moir Park, but I was really late today and didn't get to do any painting. This is from last week, and I just had a little bit more I wanted to do to it. So it is done now.

It was lovely to be there, even briefly. Last Monday I had about 40 minutes to paint, and I plopped myself down as close to the creek as possible, scrambling down a bank to set up the easel. And it was a wonderful fall day, with wind and intermittent showers, clouds and sunshine. Love it!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

buy it now!

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Windy Rocks on Superior

I needed to paint some more water and am revisiting this series of photos from Duane and Max's trip to Grand Marais this spring. I was hoping we might take a trip next week over MEA, but I can't find anywhere to stay up north... I think more people are staying close to home instead of flying for this break. And we really need a break too.

Whew!

So here is a bit of a mental break for you, water and rocks and sky~

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Lake Nokomis Under My Chin

I took this photo a month or so ago, while swimming just off the dock on the north end of Lake Nokomis with my family and our lovely neighbors- I think I want to try more versions of it because I am entranced by the shapes in the water and how to properly suggest them... so liquid!

It was an overcast day and the water was warmer than the air- can you tell?

This painting will be at our Pop-Up Art Sale this Saturday, Oct 3 from 1-5! Come on by and pick it up!

Love to see you there!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

available here!

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Wood Walker

I love the shapes of animals.

Those angles and bends, the curves and shifts from ear to head to shoulder. And the way light hits and reflects and shows near and far...

And the color!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Monday, September 28, 2020

Lichen Rocks

This is a tiny island just past Grand Marais on a little road, Croftville Road, maybe- I think it was Elsie's cabins... and there's a little cabin just in front of this place. It is seriously a giant rock with a rickety wood bridge from just behind the cabin, and I felt like I was in a magical place when I stood there in the rain. Grey days can do that.

And the colors of fall always look more intense against the grey. That is part of why I love painting on black, because it just sets the colors off more. There's more power in the color because of having to contend against the dark.

Hmmm...

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Saturday, September 26, 2020

9/26 Tomato and Friend

I've been teaching in my alley driveway for this fall's session of Paint Love, and I am so glad I decided to give it a go. I need to have these mature, creative, fun-loving, kind and generous adults to hang out with and talk art with at least once a week. And all the struggles to figure out technology to include my Zoom people is hard and brain-busting, but their patience and their paintings are so rewarding. I look forward to our classes all week!

Today we painted tomatoes because there were some lovely ripe ones in the garden, and we talked about and practiced the concept of One-Color-Per-Stroke, which is a way to make sure you are looking closely at what you are doing, paying attention to every stroke and how you are placing it onto the panel.

This was NOT my demo, because I don't like that one. I did this one later as everyone else was working and I like it!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Thursday, September 24, 2020

9/24 Velvet

This is another photo from Gina Easley in Oregon (https://www.instagram.com/ginaeasleyphoto/?hl=en) who has an incredible eye and has kindly given me permission to paint her deer! This young buck has velvet on his new antlers, and I hoped to paint them so they look velvety and soft...

Somehow, Gina's photos look magical and like a fairy-land, though the smoke from the wildfires caused a lot of darkness. I do wonder how the animals make it through such an experience...

I just needed a little deer today~

8x10 acrylic on wood

$160

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

More of the Creek...

Another painting from my adventure yesterday~ yes, that water is so necessary!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$160

Monday, September 21, 2020

9/22 Evening at the Creek

I couldn't get to Moir Park tonight, and it was a brain busting kind of day (having a lot of those lately) and I needed to sit by some water so I ran to Minnehaha Creek and sat painting for about an hour.

I'm much better now.

Whew. Thank goodness for painting!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Sunday, September 20, 2020

9/20 Fawn Grass

I'm loving this fawn. Standing in that sweet grass~ just glancing back, who's there?

Eyes are everything.

8x8 acrylic on wood

$130

Thursday, September 17, 2020

9/17 Slanting Fawn

Those eyes- I was on Facebook and looking at a friend of a friend's photos from up north and spotted this one and immediately wanted to paint it! I'm sure you can see why...

This one is 9x12- I want to do another on a 6x12- that leaning posture, those knobby knees! SO much to love!

9x12 acrylic on wood

$215

click here to purchase!

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

9/16 Bristly Bear

Thought I'd toss another bear into the mix... I love figuring out the black and light color contrast to get the bear to read true. And I love bear's faces. Look at that lip! This is from the Minnesota zoo over Labor Day weekend~ critters are fun to paint, and it helps to understand the way their forms work too.

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

9/15 Rocks in the Creek

Here's another one from yesterday- the mosquitos were getting pretty bad... Duane had suggested I not wear shorts and so I was thankful for my jeans, but nevertheless, this was a quicker painting than I'd anticipated!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$130

click here for purchase info~

Monday, September 14, 2020

9/14 Nodding Flower Reflections- Narcissus

I got to paint outside again this evening! Aside from the mosquitos, it was a perfect 40 minute experience. I highly recommend it! And I'll very likely be back there again next Monday as well- Moir Park and Nine Mile Creek! let me know if you want to join me and I'll let you know where I'll be!

In this one, I was intrigued by the reflections of this weed in the moving water below~ I'm not sure if it even reads that way to anyone else, but I'm pretty happy with the movement of the water, and the many colors I see in there.

8x8 acrylic on wood

$130

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Curving Creekside

This is the big one I painted last Monday at Nine Mile Creek, in the rain. I just had to touch it up and fix some spots that got a bit blurry from precipitation... I'm pretty pleased! It is a trick to stop your brain from saying "water is blue" and to see those beautiful grays and browns, pinks and mauves in there...

It was fun trying to get that color of the water, the feel of the depth of it, the movement and sound~

I was truly amazed at how calming it was, just to be by a moving body of water. I've included a video for you too!

20x10 acrylic on canvas

$400

click here for purchase info~

Friday, September 11, 2020

9/11 Taste

Max and I went to the MN Zoo last Sunday, really quickly, at the end of the day from 3-4, which is when the zoo closes anyway. They had it roped into sections for you to walk in certain directions, with lots of social distancing notes and hand sanitizer all over. It was actually pretty great to get out and go somewhere, and I was happy to see that there were plenty of visitors but it didn't feel crowded. I didn't feel too tight anywhere.

We went through the Minnesota Wing, of course, looking for the otters, but they were sleeping. I was happy to see one of the black bears wandering around, sniffing the air and waving her lip around.

I love bears.

I haven't painted one in a while!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

9/9 Creek Running On

Here's the second painting I did in the rain on Monday afternoon~ I was a little concerned about not having enough light reflecting on the water because of the overcast day, but I was also amazed at the amount of color I could see through the water. There were deep parts, shallow parts, sandy bits and rapids. It was mediative to concentrate on seeing those colors and shapes and lines without thinking about it being actually water.

Pretty crazy! And so fun!

10x8 acrylic on wood

$160

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

9/7 Nine Mile Creek September Rain

Max had Adventures in Cardboard at Moir park yesterday, from 3 to 6 (there's still openings if you have a kid who likes to run outside with cardboard weapons and play Capture the Flag with other kids!) and it is such a beautiful park and even tho it was raining, it is the only Monday that I can go because I have school the rest of the Mondays so we all went and Duane helped me set up my easel at the little peninsula and I painted in the rain for two hours, getting thoroughly wet and enjoying the sounds of the creek as it wound around me...

I painted three paintings, and this is the last one~

8x8 acrylic on wood

$130

And here is me painting!

Monday, September 7, 2020

9/7 Good Morning, Deer!

I'm needing to paint some animals lately. Landscapes are a different mental problem entirely, in terms of finding a focal point, allowing areas to recede and bringing others to the front, and mixing the colors I see there. Animals are more about negative space and posture and expression. I haven't really thought about it that much before, but there are specific issues with both subjects.... Hmmm....

I'm looking forward to thinking and talking more about art starting next Saturday with my Fall Paint Love students! And I do have one or two spaces left, if you are interested~ more info here!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

Saturday, September 5, 2020

9/5 A Commission!

I'm a bit busy with other things, so here is a commission from earlier this year~ and if you are interested in joining my Fall Paint Love 10 week workshop, there is more info available here!

It is a fortunate fact of my life that I am an optimist, and tend to try to see the joy in this world. Thanks for being a part of that community!

10x10 acrylic on wood

Sold~

Thursday, September 3, 2020

8/3 Ripple

There are so many colors in water- this is another shot from Nine Mile Creek. That is a seriously magical place... right in the middle of a city. I love that there are so many magical natural spots that feel secret and yet people do know they are there!

I love the middle of this one...

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

9/2 Moir Park The Other Week

Man.

I got home today, a little early, and had to take a nap.

Being with kids in a regular time (not that there's any such thing, but pre-Covid anyway) is usually pretty tiring, but the mental strain combines with that physical thing and wow. I'm still pooped.

Every fall when I go back into my classroom, I deal with a week or so of a dry cough and a tickle in my throat because of suddenly talking all day when I haven't been doing that all summer. Giving directions and bantering and lecturing about art all day can suck your glands dry, I'm telling ya! So then, combine that with having to talk even louder through three layers of a mask, plus breathing back through that same mask again, and it dries you out even more. I've had at least a quart of water since I got home.

And I touched up this one a bit more... I'm happier with the water now and the greens in the distance feel properly distancy.... it's from last Friday at Max's last day at Adventures in Cardboard for the week!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$145

click here for purchase info!

FREE SHIPPING

Monday, August 31, 2020

8.31 Me painting "Water To The Sky"

It's been a busy day, and the painting I've been playing with here isn't working, so here is a photo of me working on this painting Saturday morning with some help from our pug, Bunny...

Sunday, August 30, 2020

August 30, Water To The Sky

We had such a great weekend! Socially distant dinner with friends, a lovely Sidewalk- Art Sale yesterday, and fire last night with neighbors, and lunch with mom today!

Our Art Sale was SO much fun, and Duane sold so many of his crazy wood sculptures, it was wonderful! We are so grateful for all the friends and neighbors who came by to take our art work back to their houses and out of ours! And it was just so beautiful to have so many conversations with people too. I miss the weekend long art fairs where I would get into great conversations and make new friends and feel my brain expand with new thoughts. This was close!

And the weather couldn't have been more beautiful! What a day! Of course, I forgot to take any photos, but don't worry! We'll have another one the end of September, if we can!

I finished this diptych yesterday morning before our sale and am really excited about it~ I'm having so much fun with the water- this is another view of the rocks off Artist's Point in Grand Marais.

8x24 times 2- acrylic on canvas

$385 each, or $700 for both

Thursday, August 27, 2020

8/27 Sky Seeks Water

I meant to post this yesterday but things got away from me! I think I like it even better than yesterday's painting...

That color of water is so elusive and amazing, and satisfying when you finally figure it out!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

8/25 Water Seeks Sky

This is a 6x6 painted from those wonderful photos Duane took up in Grand Marais back in July~ I am not done with them yet!

I love the water colors, and the contrast between the two, the sky and the water- both so blue! It feels like a summer blue too, doesn't it?

MMMmmmmmmmm~

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Sunday, August 23, 2020

8/23 Elizabeth's Garden

Sometimes a little painting works out beautifully. I was sitting in Elizabeth's backyard garden, admiring her flowers and watching squirrels and rabbits dance through the undergrowth, and I painted this little chair. The sun kept moving across the back, changing the shadows. I'm pretty happy with it!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$75

Saturday, August 22, 2020

8/22 Keller Lake Plein Air Expedition

Yesterday I met with a wonderful pair of women who requested a Plein Air Painting lesson. I wanted us to be in a park that had some kind of water interest, and I'd been looking at nearby parks with lakes and found Keller park in Maplewood, just south of Highway 36 on Highway 61, and it was perfect! The lake is a lovely long one, and we were able to park ourselves just under the cottonwood trees on the small island and paint the view across the lake. Lots of lilypads and reeds, and even a few flowers. I highly recommend it!

We spent a couple hours there, and though I tried to limit my talking to allow for more painting time, I still yapped for about 45 minutes! I'm hoping I was able to impart some knowledge and ideas to my companions.

This is the larger painting I began as a demo. I did add a bit more refinement at home. Often, a painting done outside will need a bit of touching up once back inside. Light can vary and some spots may need to be brightened up, and other small details that weren't obviously lacking outside may pop up once under a roof.

12x16 acrylic on wood

$385

Thursday, August 20, 2020

8/20 Lake Pokegama Sunset

Here is one I painted last week as I sat on the dock, watching Duane and Max fishing... it is amazing how calming it is, to just sit by a large body of water. Something about it pulls your breath into a deeper rhythm that slows your brain and your heart, and fills you with something bigger than yourself so that those trivial concerns that keep you awake at 2am are settled down into the tall grass of peace.

And the mosquitos weren't even that bad!

This is another small one, for a small, sweet, calming space!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$55

click here!

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

8/18 Bone Tree at Dodge

The tree was casting such great reflections into the pond-

This one is a small one~

And I'm making it a Special Price!

6x6 acrylic on wood

$55

click here!

Monday, August 17, 2020

8/17 Reed and Reflections

Here's another one from my expedition to the Dodge Nature Center a week or two ago~ I really love painting water! Trying to see it and not let my brain tell me what I'm seeing is the key... tricking the brain is quite the skill. That's what artists do all the time!

It is also fun to paint outside where the public can happen by- when I was there, summer camp groups (wearing masks and socially distancing themselves) would wander past, and the kids would say helpful things like, "Wow! You're really good!"

Never hurts to hear a positive comment~

9x12 acrylic on wood

Usually $216 but this one is $175!

Sunday, August 16, 2020

8/16 More Plein Air paintings...

This morning we got up early-ish and went to Lake Nokomis. Duane and Max fished and I painted for about 45 minutes. They had no luck really but it was lovely to be together.

This is the painting I kept~

I liked the light through the trees, and the movement of the trunks and branches over the water.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday afternoon!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$130

Saturday, August 15, 2020

8/15 Bridge Over the Creek

This is another Plein Air painting- there's a spot down by Minnehaha creek where it passes below Nokomis street, not far from Lake Hiawatha, and I like to sit there and paint.

Maybe I'll go again tomorrow morning!

Anyone wanna join me?

10x10 acrylic on wood

$200

Thursday, August 13, 2020

8/13 Rushes at Dodge Nature Center

I've been spending some mornings painting outside, and I painted this one a week or so ago with the North Star Watercolor Society people at Dodge Farm, in West St Paul. I had been there last summer for a great Picnic Operetta experience from Mixed Precipitation, and I highly recommend them when we are able to enjoy public events again!

Anyway, I hadn't realized there was this lovely little pond with boardwalks/floating walks/docks to lead you through the water and the rushes, and I went down and parked myself and painted a few great little views. This is one of them.

I was interested in depicting the reflections of the green reeds, and how the water was green and brown and varied colors...

So fun!

9x14 acrylic on wood

$250

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

8/12 From Our Cabin Window

If this had been a normal summer (I'm sure we're all saying such phrases to ourselves if not aloud, then in our hearts) we would have spent the last week and a half at Camp Mishawaka, Duane and me as craft teachers, and Max as a camper, for the first time. We've never been here, and Max has never been to an away camp, and it seemed like such a fantastic opportunity so we jumped on the offer. And then Covid.

We were very sad, but I am sure that the campers and counselors who count on this experience every summer as a big part of their lives were devastated.

Luckily for us, we were able to pop up for a day or two to familiarize ourselves with the layout of camp and check out the crafts cabins (so FUN!) and even throw a pot or two in the ceramics area with Cheryl (thanks Cheryl!) and we went fishing and swimming and saw an OTTER that swam right past Max and me as we played with a frog (it probably was more interested in the frog) and Max caught his biggest fish to date from the dock. It was a largemouth bass!

This is the view from our dining table. We are extremely grateful.

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

August 11, Shades of Blue

Wow, it was a fantastic weekend with our Pop-Up Art Show and people dropping by to see the 30 Dogs in person~ it was so fun, Duane and I are going to do it again on Saturday August 29th from 11 to 3! Mark you calendars! Duane has been making some wacky wood bird wall hangings for indoors or outdoors and they'll be up for sale too~

This is another Lake Superior view from the photos Duane took a couple weeks ago. We are at another Lake right now, so there may be more and different water views~ stay tuned!

8x8 acrylic on wood

$145

click here to purchase!

FREE SHIPPING!

Saturday, August 8, 2020

August 8th, That Fresh Water!

Okay, maybe its a dopey name, but I like it! And I'm still really thrilled with these photos Duane took two weeks ago up on the rocks of Artist Point in Grand Marais~ there's a couple more I'm working on today, after my POP-UP ART EXHIBITION!

Come by today between 10 and noon and we'll have the tent up with the 30 Dogs hanging in it for your viewing pleasure! 3841 26th Ave S, Mpls MN 55406!

And I'm also going to have a smaller set up with some of my recent paintings that haven't really been seen yet, just in case anyone coming by has a need of some art on their walls. We've been thinking about having another Pop-up Art Weekend soon, maybe at the end of August, because Duane's been making some new wooden wall indoor/outdoor sculptures of his crazy birds and I think people are going to need those too...

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click HERE!

Dang I love those colors!

Friday, August 7, 2020

August 7th, Ollie!

Here is yet another amazing dog! This one is a birthday present, commissioned by a dear friend for her daughter, and it was apparently a hit!

YAY!

And DO please come by tomorrow for our POP-UP Art Show! 30 Dogs in 30 Days!!!

Maybe I'll have some other small paintings out too, in case you need some small art...

12x12 acrylic on wood

sold

Thursday, August 6, 2020

August 6th! 30 Dogs in 30 Days Virtual Party TONIGHT!

I have been arranging the dogs in our kitchen/dining room all morning and I think they are ready! Please join me tonight for my first ever Virtual Art Opening for 30 Dogs in 30 Days 2020!

I have a Zoom Meeting ready for you, just join me from 6:30-8pm and I'll be talking about my 30 in 30 projects and my painting processes, and then I'll go through each painting from 1 to 30 and I'll talk a little bit about each one. There will be time at the end for questions and comments, and I REALLY don't mind if you pipe up and ask them as we're going too!

I MISS all my usual art fairs and exhibitions, and I MISS talking to you all!!

PLEASE join in! Bring your own favorite beverage and snacks and I'll do my best to entertain you!

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85896146718

Meeting ID: 858 9614 6718

Passcode: 485053

sneak preview!!

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

August 5th, Croftville Roadside Creek, May

More water explorations... it's just so interesting to me right now. How do you show in paint what your eye sees? And how does your eye make sense of the colors and images it perceives? How much of what we see is what our brain is telling us?

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

click here to grab this one!

Wahoo!

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

August 4th, July on the Rocks

This is from another of Duane's photos from last week- have I mentioned how much we all love hanging out on Artist's Point in Grand Marais? Maybe once or twice... like here, and here, and here, and even here from ten years ago! If you haven't ever been there, I suggest you go, and any time of year it is beautiful and surprising. In the winter, it is a bit more treacherous, with ice forming on the rocks making it much more slippery. But if you have good balance and grippy boots, it is still worth exploring!

This one is a bit more of a nearly "normal" painting... not as expressionistic, I mean!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150

Monday, August 3, 2020

August 3, Breezy Day on the Rocks

Duane and Max went up to Grand Marais last week for a quick visit so that Max could see his friend Maddy at least once this summer. Usually we spend two weeks solid and then a couple other sprinkles of days up there each summer and Max and Maddy have done the Summer Solstice Pageant together for the past three years, so it was nice they were able to get up there. They slept in the back of the van. Such a guy thing. Not what I would've wanted to do, myself, but I was able to also have them deliver some fresh art to Yellow Bird Gallery in Grand Marais, since I'd just gotten a check from them so I knew some stuff had sold! That's always nice...

So Duane took photos for me, and this is from one of them, looking from Artists' point towards the lighthouse. I love the color of the water, and trying to determine that color!

6x12 acrylic on wood

$150