Frost Cardinals Nos. 1-3

Just a few frost cardinals recently brought in to Lizzards Gallery for a frosty Monday. We received 6 plus inches of fresh snow yesterday here in Duluth, MN. Now I'm off to shovel before the snow freezes. Have a great week! -Aaron

Sunset Sky Triptych

Here's a delightful little piece titled Sunset Sky Triptych, acrylic on 12"w x 4"h canvas, recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. These bright cardinals on gold and crisp birch are sure to liven up any space. Have a great day, Aaron

Tiny Fall Forest

Here is a fun little triptych titled Tiny Fall Forest, 12"w recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN ... because I wish fall would last just a few months longer. :) Happy Wednesday!

Cardinals in Gold

Cardinals in Gold is the title of this new 12"w x 4"h triptych recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth. It's fun to hear there's still a demand for paintings like this after creating so many over the past several years. They're versatile in display options with wall and shelf options, and the three panel format is also unique ... but you know the real reason people enjoy them ... it's the cardinals. Who doesn't love cardinals? Especially when they're perched on golden branches.

I'm available for custom work. Please email me if you'd like to order a special painting or print.
www.aaronkloss.com

Oasis - Commissioned piece

Today's painting titled Oasis (36"w x 24"h triptych) is a commissioned piece for a client that wanted a special painting for their home. The client chose the composition, color, and size, and also requested a pair of cardinals. So if you look at the left panel, near the top you'll see a pair of cardinals perched on the birch enjoying the scenery of green and gold birch leaves and lake reflections. The fun thing about those cardinals is it gets you looking elsewhere in the piece of other surprises. Are there other surprises? Well, I'll leave that to the viewer to decide. It's been a summer full of commissioned pieces for wonderful collectors and I'm thankful for each and every one.

Dreamland Triptych

This piece, titled Dreamland Triptych, is 12"w x 4"h, and features a summer lake landscape of a place I'd love to be, hence the title. Hope you can get out and enjoy summer while you can, not much of the season of green left, but I plan to make the best of it. This piece was delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN recently. 

Reflection Lake Triptych

"Reflection Lake Triptych"  12"w x 4"h 

Yesterday I had a blast bike riding, bowling, playing at the park, having lunch and hanging out with my younger two children. Just like every summer, we packed as much as we could on my day off. Summer and happy days seem to appear and disappear all too soon. I try to capture summer on canvas while I can, the landscape budding and growing, filling the land with lush greens only to transform to intense colors of autumn prior to winter setting in. The older I get, the faster time moves, and try as I may to slow down, there is always another adventure on the horizon. My series of trees reflecting in water is all about memories, and this piece featured today is no different. The reflecting trees represent our memories that are distortions of the actual event remembered. They resemble the event, yet are different. The reflections are bigger than the trees, emphasizing the importance of the memories. It's good to make time for things that will become rich memories that will never fade. And I'm going to go enjoy summer before it fades, how about you? This piece , titled Reflection Lake Triptych, is 12"w x 4"h, and was delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais recently.

Summer Sky Triptych

"Summer Sky Triptych"  12"w x 4"h

Summer Sky Triptych is the title of this 12"w x 4"h piece featuring a summer lake scene spread across three 4"w x 4"h canvases. This piece was delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais recently. While small in size, these little canvases pack quite a punch and offer versatility in their display options. With the 1.5" deep profile, they can be set on any surface, or hung on a wall in a series of three. I often paint multi panel pieces with the thought that they may not be hung together, and so I often think about each panel standing alone as a composition, so this adds an element of concentration as I work. I'm one of those people that needs to be challenged, and love change and spontaneity, and I often find ways to add those needs to my work. Speaking of work, I have lots of it to do, stop back again this week as I plan to post triptych paintings all week. All my best, Aaron.

Golden Land Cardinals

Today's post is a 12x4" triptych which recently sold. This piece features bright red cardinals, golden birch leaves, and a crisp fall sky. Sounds like the ingredients for a sweet painting if you ask me.

If you'd like to commission me to paint a custom painting for you, please email me for a free quote, and visit my website www.aaronkloss.com to view all my available originals in their respective galleries, and to view a wide selection of originals and prints in my online store.

Sienna Sky Cardinals

Sienna Sky Cardinals is the title of this 12"w x 4"h triptych painting, recently brought in to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. There's just something sweet about bright red and rich brown color combinations ... almost like a dessert, maybe chocolate covered cherries? Or apples and cinnamon? Whichever it is, I like it.

If you'd like to commission me to paint a custom painting for you, please email me for a free quote, and visit  my website www.aaronkloss.com to view all my available originals in their respective galleries, and to view a wide selection of originals and prints in my online store.

Living by the Lake Numbers 1 - 3

  Featured today are three pieces titled Living By The Lake (Numbers 1-3). These were brought in to Siiviis Gallery not too long ago, and are a few favorites of mine. I decided to title them individually as opposed to a triptych, as I felt they were strong enough to stand alone, or would make for a nice grouping. And at 9"w x 11"h each, they fill a horizontal space well when displayed together. And they include my favorite colors .. blue and gold .. and some of the reasons I live within walking distance to lake Superior .. the birch trees, the rocks, the lake, the sky .. just some of the reasons I love living by the lake.  If you'd like to commission me to paint a custom painting for you, please email me for a free quote. www.aaronkloss.com

North Shore Spring

Spring can be such a short season here in the Northland, the season hasn't influenced much of my work primarily due to weather. It's spring here now and it's raining with a high of 38 degrees today and high winds. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes you want to go outside and play. But late spring color can be very bright later in the season as the trees leaf out in bright greens before getting their rich green summer coloring. Today's painting, titled North Shore Spring, is 18"w x 18"h and is a reflection of the colors of the season of spring, and this piece was recently delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais MN ... stay warm!

Please visit my website for more examples of my work, and feel free to contact me regarding commissioning a custom painting for your home or office space.

Cranberry Forest Triptych

Cranberry Forest Triptych

Today's painting is titled Cranberry Forest Triptych and measures a total of 24"w x 10"h. This new piece is available at Z Place Gallery in Ironwood, MI and is part of a group of colorful new landscapes recently added to the gallery. The reds and blues are a playful complement to eachother, setting off the crisp birch trees while drawing the eye laterally across the three canvases. I had painted a similar piece several years ago and was happy to revisit the theme once again. A busy week awaits me as I finish off a couple of commissions for new clients and begin the process of setting up a new gallery space in Duluth .. so exciting! More news on that soon ... all my best, Aaron

Please visit my website for more examples of my work, and feel free to contact me regarding commissioning a custom painting for your home or office space.

Landscape of Summer Triptych

This piece, titled Landscape of Summer Triptych (12"w x 4") is a study that was painted in conjunction with yesterday's larger piece. When you work on a large scale, it is often beneficial to know how colors will look on the canvas prior to using that color. With the study, I'm able to be confident that the color is correct without the risk of having something I'm not wanting happen on the canvas. I work dark to light, which is completely opposite of what a lot of painters do, so having the first brushstrokes correct is crucial. The whole look and feel of a piece changes if the color is too light or dark, and then what is intended to be a daytime painting turns into a nighttime painting for example. Some artists keep their studies or discard them, but I paint studies on canvas ready to hang fully intending on offering them to collectors. That's just my style, the way I roll. And right now the summer landscape in today's piece looks very inviting. I'd like to spend some time here, swim in that lake, explore the woods, maybe catch some sunnies and bass. But that will have to wait till winter gives way to spring in the northland soon. All my best, Aaron

Many other painting and print options are available on my website: http://www.aaronkloss.com 

Feel free to contact me if you have questions ... and I'm also available for commissions if you'd like a special size or subject. 

Sixty Cardinals Triptych

"Sixty Cardinals Triptych"  36"w x 36"h

While the end of the year always brings hustle and bustle to my life, I thought I'd try to end the blogging efforts of 2015 with a favorite subject of mine: birds. So I plan to publish a new bird painting here on this blog frequently as we approach 2016 ... and I'll be sure to write my year in review which is a perennial favorite. Sometimes you have to stop and take a look at where you've been to appreciate where you're going. And with commissioned paintings to do and many other things, it's great to publish works here to give me a moment to pause and reflect. This particular painting was so fun to paint, and the simple evergreen forest in December is anchored by a rocky foreground, but stealing the spotlight are sixty cardinals perched in the birches. Go ahead and count them, I'll wait. ;) They are talking to each other about how warm this winter has been, about what surprises and blessings 2016 holds, about how to avoid those loud blue jays and ravens, about why some guy in Duluth MN insists on painting them ... What does 2016 hold? Wait and see. And for now, enjoy Sixty Cardinals, a new piece that's 36"w x 36"h and available at Lizzards Gallery in Duluth, MN.

Cadmium Cardinal Triptych

Here's a delightful little new acrylic on canvas titled Cadmium Cardinal Triptych which was recently brought in to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. In this piece a familiar favorite subject of mine .. tiny cardinals .. are set off by a bright sparkly gold background. This painting may measure in at a mere 12"w x 4"h, but it packs a bright colorful visual punch nonetheless. Also, just finished up my Split Rock painting which will be posted tomorrow. :) Have a great day! -A.Kloss

Blue Landscape Triptych

"Blue Landscape Triptych"  12"w x 4"h

There was recently a blue moon over Duluth, MN where I live, and that moon reminded me of this landscape I had painted a couple weeks previous. This piece, titled Blue Landscape Triptych is 12"w x 4"h, acrylic on canvas, and features the color blue. In the foreground, there's the typical stones and birch trees that are so plentiful in my part of the world .. but then there's that blue sky. I just love the color blue. It's fairly common for me to walk into a gallery to deliver new work only to realize the new work is all predominately blue and my work already there is ... blue. So I actually have to put the tubes of ultramarine, cobalt, cerulean, cyan, and windsor blues away to work in warmer tones for a while. But it isn't long before I once again return to the color that soothes my eyes and calms my soul. Ahhh blue. I'm drawn to you like a moth to a ... blue sky. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais for more information on this piece.

Mossy Forest Triptych

"Mossy Forest Triptych" 12"w x 4"h

Here is a painting completed in July titled Mossy Forest Triptych which is 12"w x 4"h and acrylic on canvas. I had fun with different greens in this piece, working the greens into both the foreground and background, all around the birches which almost seem like an afterthought. But the birches are enjoying the greens, and so am I lately. The greens in my work remind me of summer hikes into the forest where the pines grow tall and shade everything, causing moss to grow on the trunks of the trees, the rocks and the forest floor. It makes the landscape feel old, almost as if it has a story to tell. When I paint a small painting like this I can't help but think about a similar piece, yet on a grander scale. Perhaps in the future, but for now, this little piece packs quite a punch of green. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on this piece.

Tiny Summer Triptych

"Tiny Summer Triptych"  12"w x 4"

It always amazes me that I enjoy working small after working exclusively on large canvases when I first started showing work publicly. There's a certain challenge that makes working small intriguing ... the constraint of the canvas giving every brush stroke more significance and the speed of completion makes for quick decisions. When I work large, I often wait a week or longer to begin to get a feel for how the final piece will look, but there isn't that waiting period with small canvases, and that's what compels me to continue painting them. Some artists call the studies, I don't like referring to my work as a study. Unless a piece absolutely speaks to me and I can't part with it, I offer all my work in all sizes for sale. The little paintings usually sell fast, you have to enjoy them while you can ... just like summer. Ahhhhh summer.
This piece is part of my show at The Art of Hair on First through September 2015.

Northern Lights Triptych

"Northern Lights Triptych"  12"w x 4"h

Featured today is a fun little piece titled Northern Lights Triptych. While the subject matter is the night sky filled with the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, there is a playful abstract feel to this painting. From the the three panel format, to the bright green squares dancing across the sky, this painting was a joy to paint. Night paintings are always a joy because there is a mystery to them, and a natural contrast of light and dark ... not to mention endless shades of my favorite color which of course is blue. The northern lights have been brilliant this year, hopefully as we get closer to autumn I can catch some dancing across the night sky. For now,  I'm content to paint the mystery of the aurora borealis in the northern Minnesota night skies. 

Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on this piece.