11/23 Northeast

I'm at home, watching "Kids in the Hall" with Duane, dogs and cats asleep on various pillows and bits of furniture around our living room, while I try to post today's blog.  I'm a little tired and will be making it unto bed soon...
This is of the clouds seen from Psychoe Suzies' a summer or two ago, across the river. Another one I've always wanted to paint...
Also a good night to watch "Nobody's Fool", one of my fav movies ever, starring Paul Newman, who always makes me think of my dad...  totally awesome movie, I highly recommend it! This review explains it better than I can~  watch it!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/22 Molly and Judd's Place, Key West

Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm at mom's, where we've been having intermittent issues with the internet for the past month... so I was unable to post a painting last night (perhaps the wine helped with the inability...) but my IT brother was over today for the turkey dinner and we think he's figured it out.  At least, this seems to maybe be working~  and really, he's an engineer, not an IT guy... I'm posting that in case he reads this, which I don't this he will...
Anyway, this is a painting of the front door of the house in Key West where our puppet/artist friends Molly and her family live, and we house-swapped with them a couple years ago and I took this then.  I'm loving the dappled sunlight!  THAT'S the word I wanted when I wrote "speckled"!
Hope you are having fun and relaxing with friends and/or family~

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/20 Tiny Seattle House

It's been a long day, and this is another painting I've wanted to paint for a while.  Maybe the real title of this series is "Places Kat Likes" or something like that...
We stayed at an airbnb right next door to my cousin's house last March in Seattle, up off of Fauntleroy Way (I always think of the made-for-TV-movie that came out in 1980, "Little Lord Fauntleroy" starring Ricky Schroeder and Alec Guiness!) and this little house was around the block up the hill on the next street and I loved walking by it every morning-  isn't it sweet?

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/19 The Chair By The River

We really love walking by the Mississippi River, on either side, in the dog park on the Minneapolis side, or down at Hidden Falls where Barebones Halloween show happens every year, and so it has that feeling of a place like home to us.
Last summer, we were walking along through the woods and happened upon a mama deer with a baby, and because we didn't want to startle them, we veered off a bit and went another direction, where we happened upon this chair.  Since it didn't seem to mind us being there, and it didn't seem to be about to run off, I took a couple photos of it.  Rather a handsome specimen, in the partial sunlight, spackled by the leaves... is that the right word?

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/18 Maggie and Nico's Ghana House

This is my friend Maggie and her husband Nico's house in Ghana.  Nico passed away earlier this month, and was buried on the 17th in Ghana.  That's him walking into the house~ so open and airy.  I've never seen an African sky, so I hope I've gotten some of it.  It seems it might be whiter and hotter~

10x8 acrylic on wood

$175

on hold

Home Away, Grand Marais!

If you've been a lover of the North Shore of Lake Superior as long as we have, you'll recognize this iconic lighthouse, and you've probably also been out to that point to look out across the lake and the Sawtooth Mountains~
This one is for dad, who taught us all how to skip rocks up on the shore, picking the best, flattest rocks and throwing skippers of 15 pops!  Max has learned from the best~  he's got that down!
I have never noticed the decorative cut to the little supporting buttresses just under that highest platform!  That's one of the magical things about drawing and painting- it makes you really look closely at your subject to the point where you are directing all your attention to it and you notice amazing things you wouldn't have seen normally.
Like that blue on the left side of this lighthouse- I think it's from the light reflected off the water~  but what a crazy beautiful blue!
XO!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/16 Deborah's Fav Place

This one has a great story attached!  From Deborah, slightly edited by me~

Kat dear, here is my favorite place that I go back to in my mind when I need to remember a true 'home' - the front porch of The Cottage on Superior, on Sverre Lane which ends at Sverre Bay in Lutsen atop a rocky outcrop, named for the historic fishing family that lived there for over a century. The original fish-house was restored and sets below on a rocky shelf at the shoreline. 
Someday I will build a small house just like this one in the outer metro area on a lake and recreate what I loved so much: honey-worn wood floors gleaming in sunlight from windows on all sides on white walls and built-in bookcases, and a walk-out deck on both sides. 

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/15 Jenny's House!

This is such a sweet house-  I love the sky through those oak trees!  At least I think they are oak trees... and that subtle little mailbox... and just the changes between the blues of the house and the sky!  So fun!

And something not so fun- we got flu shots today-  Maxie had a really hard time with it, due to his past rabies shot experience of two years ago, and so he got the nasal thing instead which seemed to make it work.  Thank goodness nurses know how to be kind to kids~

8x10  acrylic on wood

$175

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11/14, Summer Garden

Ahh!  Doesn't this look nice?  Like the green scene I posted yesterday...
I do love snow, I have to admit.  Especially in November when the dark feels a bit more oppressive.  It is nice to have that white glow on the ground...
BUT this is Arlene's summer garden, her front walk and those honeysuckles~  makes you want to go on up and tap on the screendoor and see if she'll have you in for a cup o tea~
Enjoy!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/13 Up North

This is from a photo I took this summer of Max looking for crayfish at Jill and Rick's cabin in northern Wisconsin, right near Michigan. He thought it was Florida at first, when I was working on it this morning.  So I tried to make the greens a bit more midwestern rather than tropical...

I really like it.

It was a bit mediative, painting it-  I'm finding that's true of these paintings-  more meditative than a portrait~

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/12 Marcy's British Cottage

There are a lot of really cute cottages with amazing thatched roofs, all cut and laid in patterns.  This isn't one of those...
I picked this one to paint because of the rocks and the stream running through-  I'm not sure this cottage is actually habitable...
And those rocks are so cubistic!  I didn't get enough lichen on them either...

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/11 MJ's House

Here's the house that I meant to paint yesterday, but we really had an incredibly full day and it just wasn't possible!
That said, THANK YOU to everyone who made my day yesterday in any part of it!  My Painting Lessons Crew in the morning was fantastic and intelligent and daring, as usual, and Duane and Max and I had the biggest crowd yet for our afternoon presentation of "Otterways and Waterways" at MWMO! There's just one more Community Event, January 12th 11-2!
And thank you everyone who made it to Lisa and Jay's house for our 12th Annual "Boutique By The Creek"!  We think weather and cold may have kept a few people home but you can always check these artisan's websites out for more info on their work!
Duane and I were even able to go out for a date dinner last night, to the Town Hall Brewery where our waitress recognized Duane as the local Patrol Guy at Northrop and we found out we have friends in common, of course!
Whew!  So today has been a lovely catching up day~  and a catching my breath day~

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/9 Captain Kruse' Place

So this is where my friend Jim is living, which impressed me greatly because I am used to thinking of him as the crazy person who lives on an unfinished sailboat, and here he is living in an actual house, and a rather cute one at that on Orcas Island off of Seattle...
And it is actually a camp!
Sounds pretty fun... maybe we'll send Max next summer!
Here's where Jim's boat is docked... a live cam!
I have to admit, this one took longer than I'd like-  that's the problem with buildings-  they are a bit fizzier...  I meant FUTZIER.
Whew!

8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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11/8 The Retreat

This is today's HOMEvember subject, Gerry and Toni's favorite place to stay up in Ely, MN, and I loved the contrast of the dark and lights in this~  it's been a busy day, plus snow as I was heading over to my friend Lisa's to set up my work for Saturday's Show~  so I just got home, and Max is showing me his favorite parts of "Godzilla vs Megalon"...
Life is good!

8x10 acrylic on cradled wood

$175

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11/7 Our House

SO... still wanting to paint houses/homes/ places we love to be for the next 20 days, and it's looking like it may be a lot of my own pics~  though I DO have a bit of a list for the project below~

SO if you've sent me a house and I'm not showing it here, please remind me!  I've just been a bit of a basket case with too many things going on, and now that elections are OVER and it (maybe) feels like things have settled a bit, I can focus more on my art again.
I've made a page here with more info~
and dropped the price!  Because I CAN!
DO come to the wonderful creative Boutique By The Creek at Lisa's House this Saturday, 10-5! Info HERE!  And/or come see us perform at the MWMO for our last performance of this year! 1-4 Info HERE!

Our House 8x10 acrylic on wood

$175

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TODAY- 11/7-  Our House!
11/8- Gerry and Toni's Pilot House
11/9- Captain Kruse' Pad
11/10- MJ's Place in the Woods
11/12- Marcy's Cottage with Stream
11/13- Up North
11/14-
11/15-
11/16-
11/17- Maggie and Nico's Home
11/18- ect

11/6 That Island I love

At a time when we aren't sure what the next day will bring, it is important to really remember what is truly important- experience, memory, feelings we've had at those beautiful times in our lives~ connection with one another, the hope of finding more connection, not less-
If you haven't read this article yet, about the nurse who treated the killer at the Tree of Life, it helped me- especially the nurse's quote at the end, which is “If my actions mean anything, love means everything.”

6x12 acrylic on wood

$144

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11/5 Dave's Creek, October

I painted this one last Friday at our First Friday Painting Party at my studio!  THANK YOU Bobbi and Michelle and Brian and Chuck and Bridget!!!  I always love painting WITH people!
You'll notice that is it blue...
And I wanted to say, I love people. One of my favorite lines is from "Harold and Maude" when Harold says to Maude something along the lines of 'you are so good with people!" and she says something along the lines of "Why wouldn't I be?  They're my species!"

And a quote I remember from the artist Kieth Haring, who was also a great humanitarian, and who said if something isn't FOR people, then it really is against them.

Go with love, my peeps!

12x36 acrylic on canvas

$865

FREE SHIPPING on this one!

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November 3, Yellowstone Raven

I'm not sure I left enough black showing in this one... I may go back in, or more likely just paint another version...  I have no problem with painting more than one black creature!
It is always good to look at something from a distance.  In this photo, the bird's beak looks really close to the edge of the frame and it isn't actually that close...
I'm a bit tired today- can you tell?
And I'm still collecting photos for HOMEvember, but it isn't starting til next Wednesday.  I'm realizing I'm needing a brain break badly...

12x12 acrylic on canvas

$285

click HERE for purchase info~

10/31 A Bat for Halloween...

I'm reposting this one...  it seems appropriate...

6x6 acrylic on wood

$65

click HERE to nab it!

I also will be sending out a note tomorrow about postponing the "HOME-vember" Painting Challenge-  I'm a little crazier than I'd expected to be this weekend and it is just going to be too hard to get it rolling.  PLUS I'd prefer to put my energy into keeping Minnesota BLUE so I'll be painting what I like for the next few days, and will start this HOMEvember project on November 7th!  Though I still would love you to send me more images!!!  I'd like to paint about 20!

Thank you so much for following me!

10/30 Lena, a Commission

Yes, another commission! Always painting, that's me! Pretty darn lucky, if you ask me too~
I do have to say, I'm thinking of postponing HOME-vember until after next Tuesday... I'm just a bit wrung out and haggard at the moment, and need a little breathing room- so I'll start the paintings on the 7th, and go until the 27th of November!  how's that?  Any thoughts?
Lena and her owner Sarah came to my studio a month or so ago, which was fantastic because I LOVE meeting the critters I paint, if possible!  Lena had just recently been rescued and was a bit shy, though certainly better behaved than my two dogs.  I'm hoping I caught her shyness and courage in this one...

8x8 acrylic on wood

sold!