A work in progress

November 'Dees, acrylic on 12"w x 6"h canvas, November 2019

Lately I've been busy preparing for the busy Christmas season ... stocking galleries and shipping out orders from my online store. The image featured here is titled November 'Dees and this painting has four chickadees perched on a birch on a snowy winter day. People sometimes give me a hard time about painting songbirds ... but when you're inspired by the landscape, I can't help but paint these friendly little feathered peeps. We had gusty winds and half a foot of snow today in northern Minnesota, and the chickadees were buzzing around, singing and eating seeds from the feeder. Perhaps they were just having fun ... or hoping I would paint them ... and they're in luck because I just did.

It's been quite a while since I've posted to this blog, as I've been primarily posting updates of my work via Facebook and Instagram. I've included links below if you'd like to follow me on those platforms, I'd appreciate it!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaronklossart/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronklossartwork/

This piece is part of a show I'm having at 47 Degrees Gallery in Knife River, MN this December 2019.

Snowshoe Trek - new acrylic on canvas

Snowshoe Trek

Today's piece is a winter landscape titled Snowshoe Trek. This piece is 12x12", acrylic on canvas, and was recently delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN. I love the rich blues of the winter landscape, the late afternoon and evening shadows on the snow are captivating, and the inspiration for this piece and several others like it. The moon in this painting is a bright complementary gold and lights up the sky. We could use some more snow here in Duluth, MN soon, we've had warmer temps and the landscape has patches of grass visible, with lots of ice from melting and freezing ... nothing a few inches of fresh powder wouldn't fix ... and then it would be time to lace up the snowshoes.

To see all my originals for sale at Sivertson Gallery see the following link:
http://www.aaronkloss.com/sivertson-gallery-grand-marais.html

Snowshowers

"Snowshowers"  20"w x 10"h

On a day which saw snowflakes I thought this piece would be fitting, titled Snowshowers, acrylic on 20"w x 10"h canvas. This piece is part of five new tiny cardinal paintings being shipped to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN to arrive this weekend. This painting features a limited palette of red, white and blue, which could be viewed in a patriotic sense, but that isn't the intention of the piece. Instead, this birch landscape celebrates the changing seasons and the arrival of snow. The cardinal, ever present in this rugged part of the world called northern Minnesota, is a hardy bird, not phased by the hottest of summer days or dark and coldest nights of the year. Long live the cardinal. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, where the cardinals live, for more information on this piece.

Glistening Snow

"Glistening Snow"  6"w x 6"h

While you may notice the white snow and birch trees in this new piece, titled Glistening Snow, 6"w x 6"h, my favorite piece of this wintry puzzle is the blues. Winter landscapes can be stark, barren, void of life and filled with whites, grays, and leafless listless trees. Or, the landscapes can be filled with rich blues of ice, shadows, and distant ridges. While this piece doesn't use a complementary color, a warm sky often makes for quite a visual punch, giving color to the bleak midwinter landscape. This painting is part of my ongoing art show at Amity Coffee in Duluth, which will be available for viewing through early January 2015.

Cardinal In The Snow

"Cardinal In The Snow"

In honor of my 40th birthday today, I'm posting a new 4"w x 12"h  piece titled Cardinal In The Snow. I've mentioned here before about how I've viewed the cardinal representing those who choose to not follow the crowd, who aren't afraid to be who they're supposed to be. While I wanted to be an artist when I was growing up, I didn't know anyone who was an artist and was directed towards more normal occupational pursuits by teachers and friends. To this day, I still get made fun of for doing what I do, and often people ask what I do for work when I've just told them what I do for work. :) All this to say, at age 40 I'm glad I've chosen the path I've walked and don't have regrets. In many ways I'm that cardinal in the snow, wearing bright red while the rest of my fellow feathered friends blend in to the landscape. If that's what works for them, great. What motivates me to keep painting is perhaps summed up best by a quote from Morgan Freeman: "Get busy living, or get busy dying."
This painting is part of my Retrospective show at Amity Coffee here in Duluth, MN

Frost on the Lake

"Frost On The Lake"  6"w x 6"h

On a cold November morning I thought this 6"w x 6"h piece titled Frost on the Lake would be a fitting blog post. Birches, stones and a snowy foreground are witness to a light purple lake and distant purple ridge. The sky is a lazy hazy shade of winter, but all these elements combine for one interesting cool blue composition. I recently read that Lake Superior is starting to freeze over the earliest in the winter ... at least in the last forty years. I believe it, with the January weather we've had for the past several weeks. At least we're supposed to have a more moderate mid winter. There's always hope ... in the meantime, there's always frost on the lake in November. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in frosty Grand Marais, MN for more information on this piece.

April Snow Tulips

"April Snow Tulips" 6"w x 6"h

I felt this piece was appropriate for a cold gray April day. The snow is softly falling in large flakes and melting on the soggy ground as the birds that were so full of song yesterday are quietly waiting for sunnier skies. This time of year is called by many as the theater of seasons with snow one day, warm sun the next, rain, then sleet etc... but it is also a time of eager expectation and preparation for the summer season. Everything will soon be lush and green outside and I'll face a bigger challenge than that of trying to paint with low gray light and that is distraction. Hard to stay in the studio with warm summer days outside ... these tulips that are covered with snow in this painting can't wait for summer and neither can I. Until then we patiently wait out the April snow...
Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on this piece.

Snowy April Tulips

I'm at a loss for words at the moment ... not sure why. Here's a new piece featuring tulips and snow falling on a deep cobalt blue background titled Snowy April Tulips which is 8"w x 10"h and available at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN.

Snow Queen Series

"Snow Queen No. 1-4" 4"w x 4"h each

I had fun painting this series of female cardinals with the birch trees and snowy background providing a high contrast field of white to make the birds really pop. When you're dealing with a more subdued color, such as the mottled browns of the female cardinal, you have to do something to the background or else the birds just don't stand out. So these lovely little ladies are enjoying the snow, as are my kids. Not so much for me though, I'm ready for spring. 8 below zero this morning and my cocker spaniel was hobbling around on frozen paws.... and so was I. 

Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on this piece.

Winter Forest Cardinals

"Winter Forest Cardinals" 30"w x 24"h, $600, Duluth Art Institute

Here is my painting for the Duluth Art Institute's Annual Membership show. This piece is titled Winter Forest Cardinals and features six bright red cardinals perched on birches at a lake. The snow covered shoreline has large bluestone boulders scattered across it's icy blue and white speckled surface. There are several underbrush visible in the foreground and background, and I have fun playing with the color value of the cobalt and ultramarine blues to give the depth I was after. The moon is offset to the left and sparkles across the lake which is rich in deep blue color. The moon radiates across the sky with gradually intensifying color value and is the focal point of the piece. There is also a subtle distant ridge if you look at the sky closely. This landscape is reminiscent of the endless subzero weather we've had  here that's been giving all of us cabin fever. Winter's icy grip won't last however, and soon spring will arrive and old man winter will have to move north. I'm already anxiously awaiting the spring trout run in Amity Creek and Lester River, can't wait to teach my kids how to fly fish ... and since we're stuck inside a couple more months ... how to paint. :)

Vertical Birch Blues

"Vertical Birch Blues" 6"w x 12"h

"Crimson Birches" 4"w x 4"h

I thought a 'snowscape' (as I like to call them) would be appropriate for today. The snow is falling in buckets in Duluth, MN today. I just shoveled 4" and I bet I'll be doing the same thing again later today. The snow sure is pretty, covering the forest like a soft white blanket. Rabbit and deer tracks are visible and the depth of blue color in the twilight is just amazing. Yesterday, a small coyote ran across the street ... at first I thought it was a fox or wolf, but now I'm thinking it was a coyote. He probably had spring fever lol. I know I do. It's off to the studio now, several horizontal birch forests are in the works, to be posted next week. Cheers. -A

For more information on these paintings, please contact Z Place Gallery in Ironwood, MI.

Winter Birches

"Winter Birches" 8"w x 8"h

"Little Red" 4"w x 4"h

Just a peaceful birch forest for Saturday, March 9, 2013 .. as the snow quietly falls in as I type this in a quiet little city set on a hill in northern Minnesota named Duluth ... while a little red rascal watches from his perch on a birch. If he's at all like me he's ready for Spring. :)

Please contact Z Place Gallery for more information on today's pieces.

Moon Sparkle

"Moon Sparkle" 6"wx6"h

When winter was on the doorstep I was going through a 'painter's block' and couldn't figure out what to paint. I went for a few weeks just struggling to find some spark, some creative drive and felt like a listless sailboat on Lake Superior with no wind to get me going in a direction. I spoke with one of the owners of a gallery that represents my work and they gave me some ideas. Not what to paint specifically, but more general direction and some of the words were like 'snowscapes', 'moonlight' and 'night magic'. I took these to thoughtful consideration and a wide range of compositions have resulted, today's post titled Moon Sparkle just one of many. From a listless boat to a passionate painter ... can't wait to get back to the easel and get to work. I wish I always had this creative spark, this passionate flame to sustain me ... but life isn't about riding the winds on a warm sunny day, it's about enjoying the journey through the calm times, the waves, the sun and the night. Peace. -A
 
Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information about today's painting.

January Maples and Maple Snow

"January Maples" 4"w x 4"h

"Maple Snow" 4"w x 4"h

Here are a couple of fun little winterscapes. I started with the maples and fully intended to add more color and texture to the trees, but after I painted the snow I realized that they should stay dark to give the snow contrast. This is the end of the spectrum so to speak ... white and black. I can't increase the contrast any more than that, and the snowflakes are titanium white by Golden straight out of the tube. I love to glaze my paints in multiple shades that are thin and semi-transparent, but not the snow. I also had some fun with the shadows, adding in some cobalt blue over burnt sienna ... basically giving the impression that the snow is falling over the forest floor.

Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information about these paintings.

Red Winter Ridge

"Red Winter Ridge", 8"w x 8"h

I stopped into Lizzards Gallery yesterday to drop off 13 new works on canvas. There is nice selection in the gallery already of larger works on canvas, and the holiday season had depleted the selection of smaller works, so I focused on the smaller sized canvases. I just love the square sized canvases, so if you visit the gallery you'll get to see the bright new work featuring snowy landscapes and cardinals. All the new work is also on my website if you'd like to view it there. My daughter is asking to go ice skating ... gotta get outside and enjoy this beautiful winter weather this weekend! Stop back soon. :)

Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information about today's painting.

First Snow Triptych

"First Snow Triptych", Acrylic on 12"w x 4"h canvas

As I shoveled snow yesterday I couldn't help but think about this painting and some ideas I have for other works that will no doubt soon be painted. Snow is white, and white is a tricky color to paint with. There has to be 10,00000000 shades of white, and when you paint on black canvas, it just adds several more zeros to that number. :) While I can't just paint white on black as I'm not going that effect, getting the underpainting just right is a challenge. I'm going to be working with snow for a while ... hopefully more with my brush and less with my shovel, but in Duluth, MN you better know how to run a shovel. Now that I mention it, it's snowing again. Gotta go ... paint.

Please contact Sivertson Gallery for more information on this painting.

Snowy Birches No. 1

Acrylic on 10"w x 8"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

The first of two birch compositions, with snow gently falling in the background. I love how the snow and the black bark markings of the birch trees match each other, almost as if the black bark on the birch trees is falling too. 18" of snowfall last week here in Duluth may have influenced me to paint snow ya know. :)

Snow Falling in a Birch Forest

Acrylic on 48"w x 24"h x 1.5"d canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please contact Lizzard's Gallery for purchase information.

I was so inspired by the first snowfall of the year that I just had to paint a picture of the snow. I chose a Birch forest on a cobalt blue background to feature the first flakes of frigid November. I had to laugh as I finished up this painting and the temperature hit 50 degrees, effectively melting whatever snow we had. But Winter is well on it's way, set to return soon, and even though I signed this work on a rainy day, I know that soon more snow will be falling in the Birch, Maple and Evergreen forests surrounding this beautiful little town I live in called Duluth.


I'm finishing up some highlights and shadows on a couple more paintings which will be posted in the next day or two .. please stop back soon. God bless. :)
-A

Winter Sentinel

Acrylic on canvas panel
8"w x 10"h
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please email me at aaronklossartwork@gmail.com for purchase information.

I painted this tree growing on a rocky cliff with a specific location in mind. But since painting this tree, I've found many pines growing on top of cliffs and outcroppings in the area. Either the pines are trying to show how tough they are by growing on such a rugged surface, or the trees are trying to get a better view of the landscape. You decide. :) The sky in the background has a few thin clouds passing through as the last light of the day fades.