Daisies

"Daisies"  6"w x 8"h

Here's a fun little floral piece to go with today's bright sunny weather. This new acrylic on canvas is 6"w x 8"h. Please contact Sivertson Gallery for more information.

Black Eyed Susans

This self explanatory titled new 6"w x 8"h acrylic on canvas features black eyed susans, which happens to be one of my wife's favorite flowers. I'm more into marigolds and roses myself ... although I've been favoring irises too recently. I basically like anything that is colorful I guess. :)
Please contact Sivertson Gallery for more information on this piece.

Blooming Iris paintings

What better way than to end the month of July with some beautiful Iris paintings? These are all 4"w x 4"h, acrylic on deep profile canvas, and are available at Lizzards Gallery in downtown Duluth, and at Siiviis Gallery in Duluth's Canal Park. 

What a month it's been! Vacations, biking, swimming, fishing, hiking, parades, amusement parks ... and oh yes, painting. :) It's hard to say goodbye to July. But I look forward to what's ahead during the next several months, where I'll work towards stocking galleries as the busiest time of year for me in painting continues through the end of the year. 

Happy Friday! -Aaron

"Iris Bloom No. 1" 4"w x 4"h

"Summer Iris No. 1"  4"w x 4"h

"Iris Bloom No. 2" 4"w x 4"h

"Summer Iris No. 2"  4"w x 4"h

"Iris Bloom No. 3" 4"w x 4"h

Lavender Sky Iris

"Lavender Sky Iris"  12"w x 12"h

Lavender Sky Iris is a new piece at Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. Continuing on my recent theme in purple iris, this painting uses the color of the iris for the sky, ratcheting up the value of the color until white sparkles finish the negative spaces between the plants. While at first I struggled with this painting to distinguish the flowers from the background, I kept working on it, brightening the sky until it made me smile. :) Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information.

Golden Land Iris

"Golden Land Iris"  24"w x 12"h

The iris is such a fascinating subject. The shape of the flower is so expressive, it moves and changes color minute by minute. With such a fascinating subject, my endeavor isn't to recreate a masterpiece, but to share my impression of the subject via paint on canvas. In this case, it's purple iris on a radiant gold background. The colors complement each other and intensify each other's hues. Perhaps a subject can do that to an artist ... the subject and the artist intensify each other's strengths and passions bringing a combination that achieves a visual spark. Well, that's all I have to offer on a sultry summer evening. Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information on this spark titled Golden Land Iris, 24"w x 12"h, acrylic on canvas.

Blooming Iris

"Blooming Iris"  36"w x 24"h, Lizzards Gallery Duluth MN

The iris have been blooming around my home in Duluth MN recently, and I couldn't help but find myself drawn to their color, form, and beauty. Capturing them on canvas is a challenge as the flowers I chose were solid purple with little distinguishing features where the petals overlapped. So I made sure to paint them open so that the negative space around the flowers could be filled with color. I had quite a fun time in this series, and will post new works in an iris theme for the next several days. Please stop back soon .. and take a minute to stop and smell the iris. :) Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information.

Gold Ridge Crocus

"Gold Ridge Crocus" 6"w x 6"h

Another piece in a spring flower series featuring flowers in the snow. This one has a warm gold ridge in the background to complement the blue sky and deep purple blooms of the crocus. I haven't painted flowers for a couple years ... it does feel a bit strange to be blogging about my flower paintings, but oh well, Vincent Van Gogh painted flowers so I can too! lol. Check back soon and happy spring.
Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on this piece.

Waves of Mercy

Acrylic on 24"w x 36"h x 2"d Canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
NFS

This is one of those paintings where the painter wishes to express themselves without agonizing over details. I envisioned five Geraniums in a landscape that had visual form and repetition. You'll notice this painting has five background layers: a white foreground of Sweet Alyssum, followed by the Geranium leaves and flowers, then the yellow perennial bushes, then greens (topped with yellow Daisies), and finally blue sky. The five layers repeat the same shape, reflecting the influence of the Geraniums. I felt that the Geraniums carried the significance in this piece, which is why I labored so much on the color and texture of this piece, wanting it to be right while letting it have a playful feel at the same time. I often feel like we can influence our surroundings and relationships more than we give ourselves credit for. Our lives can have a ripple effect on our family, friends, neighbors and community. I often find myself glancing too quickly at small things while ignoring the larger picture. If we don't judge at first glance but look deeper, we'll find our surroundings aren't so bad. 

For next week I'll be exploring the Autumn landscapes, trying to capture on canvas the special time of year when the Birches and Maples cover the forest in blazing color while brightening our lives. It is also a time of harvest, rejoicing and thankfulness. I have a 2'x3' canvas, a 16"x16" canvas and several 6"x 6" and even 4"x 4" canvases prepped. I'm thinking I'll build some miniature easels to set the smaller canvases on when they are finished for presentation. Stop back soon, I have a feeling next weeks works will be special. :)

Geranium Jive

Acrylic on 14"w x 16"h x 2"d Canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please email me at aaronklossartwork@gmail.com for purchase information.

This painting and the one I'll post tomorrow are a lesson in patience and and perseverance. I wanted to capture the color and texture I saw in the flowers and their surroundings so I worked on layering the blues, greens, and pinks; many with transparencies; to get the color I was after. I don't feel like the photo does justice to the brushstrokes in this painting. I suppose you could count the thousands of brushstrokes in my paintings, but that's not the point. The point is for the viewer to identify with the mood and emotion of the subject matter. I realize that art is subjective and not everyone will identify with a particular painting, but as long as I'm jiving with the painting I know others will. Do you jive?

Lupin Five

Acrylic on 10"w x 8"h Canvas Panel
Click on image above to enlarge.

SOLD

Last Lupin painting in the series. Lately I've been pulled and tugged between landscapes and florals. The late summer blooms may have something to do with it, as yesterday's family walk down to our neighborhood garden inspired me and I took several reference photos. Next week I'll post the deep woods landscapes I've been working on, they feature deep blues and subdued lighting with sky-high maples in late Autumn color. Can't wait to finish them so people can view them, I might stay in that theme a while longer ... or I may just get pulled and tugged into another floral painting. :)

Lavender Lupins

Acrylic on 10"w x 8"h Canvas Panel
Click on image above to enlarge.

SOLD

This painting is the second of three. I enjoy working in series, although as of late I've been keeping the series short and exploring different ideas that I have. I'm envisioning a Lupin hillside with birches, water and blue sky in the distance on a larger scale, perhaps 2' x 3'. I'll get right to it ... as soon as I finish the works that are waiting patiently on my easel ... and the several paintings I want to begin.
Maybe I need a larger studio and more easels. :)

Please stop back soon as I'll be uploading four new paintings within the next week.

Lupin Line

Acrylic on 36"w x 12"h x 2"d Canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please email me at aaronklossartwork@gmail.com for purchase information.

Lupins bloom in Duluth in the early summer and they are always a joy. They scatter their seeds and spread out, often covering entire hillsides in shades of lavender for several weeks at a time.  My girls really liked this painting (their favorite color is purple so I can't imagine why lol). One of my daughters immediately recognized the lupins as the 'flowers that grow on the hillside by my climbing tree'. My other daughter thought they were purple trees growing in a forest. They could also be cotton candy on a stick (Minnesota State Fair is coming up) or they could simply be ... lupins.

I have a couple more lupin paintings on a smaller scale available which will be uploaded later this week. They may also be viewed on my paintings page on my website. God bless.

Apple Blossoms

24"w x 24"h x 2"d, Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.

SOLD

Every painting has a story behind it which makes it special and in many cases, memorable. This is the painting I worked on while I was moving to a new house. I've found the many blossoms and leaves in this painting represent everything I had to accomplish during that time. The blossoms featured in this painting are from a Fireside Apple tree, which produced the sweetest apples I've ever tasted. :)
This painting also features many negative spaces in which the blue sky sparkles and dances through as the sky fades from light to dark blue. After you've accomplished a huge task, such as moving, you take time to rest and reflect on what you've managed to achieve. This painting represents the joy of having time to rest.

... But I can't rest too long as I've always thinking on the next painting, and what's currently on my easel is a two-canvas piece featuring fall birches. In total, the piece measures 4'w x 3' tall. I'm excited to be working on a large scale painting, I hope it will sparkle and dance just like the apple blossoms. :)