Golden Glow on the Lake, and A View To Remember

Today's post is a two for one special. These two pieces were painted for a collector as a gift to family members. These two paintings depict a sunrise and a sunset over lake Superior with the cabin deck in the foreground. While the reference photos had the cabin and deck silhouetted against the bright sky, I added in some color and detail so that the pieces would be brighter, happier, and also work well if displayed together.

These two 20x16 acrylics on canvas are NFS, but I'm always available for commissions, feel free to contact me for a free quote via email. All my best, Aaron

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.

I Will Remember You

Today's painting is titled I Will Remember You, and is a 20"w x 16"h special commissioned piece for a Duluth resident. Their realtor commissioned me to paint the house these folks had lived in for 40 plus years as a gift to them. So I thoroughly enjoyed painting this tudor style house, even if it was quite the challenge with it's architectural details. Prints of this painting are available on my online store, and yes, I paint house portraits ... feel free to send me an email if you'd like a free quote on a special painting of your own home.

Man's Best Friends (Commission)

"Man's Best Friends" 

Today I'm featuring a post titled Man's Best Friends which is a 24"x24" canvas commissioned by a local resident. In the process of getting relocated due to a job, the person wanted to surprise his wife with a painting of their home that featured their two dogs on the front porch. This made for a fun challenge for me, and also a memorable gift of the home they loved. Sometimes life has unexpected surprises and new adventures, I know my next adventure will be a memorable one, I'll be sharing more on that this next week ... but hopefully I'll take time to play too, those dogs sitting on the front porch look like they're ready to play fetch.
Feel free to contact me in you'd like to talk about a custom painting for your home or business ... and also please visit my website for more examples of my work.
All my best,
-A

The Landscape of Summer ... commissioned painting

'The Landscape of Summer'  36"w x 36"h

Today's featured painting is a commissioned painting titled The Landscape of Summer, which is 36"w x 36"h. This piece was inspired by a previous painting of mine titled Summer Encore. I've actually been asked to paint a previous painting again a few times already this year, and each time it's a fun challenge. I primarily work from memory and emotion, so to work from a reference painting or photo is a different process altogether which often makes for a challenge. In the case of today's painting, the challenge was a great reminder that summer will soon be here again, and the frozen landscape will give way to the rich blues, greens, and golds of the summer landscape.

Many other painting and print options are always being added to 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. 

Light of the World

"Light of the World"  36"w x 24"h

Today's painting, titled Light of the World, is 36"w x 24"h, acrylic on canvas. This painting was commissioned and features Split Rock Lighthouse set in a late summer scene with the sun shining brightly in the sky and reflecting upon the water. This is a bright and cheerful painting and is my fifth attempt at painting this scene. Each time I paint the lighthouse I try a different approach, this particular approach hinting at changing seasons with the green foliage with gold highlights. I also enjoy a challenge, and this piece brought it. And this is also my sixth commissioned painting in a row, wow ... lots of custom work, very enjoyable. Please send me an email if you'd like to commission a special painting. (aaronklossartwork@gmail.com) All my best, Aaron

Where The Moon Dances on the Water - commissioned painting

"Where The Moon Dances on the Water"  60"w x 48"h, Jan. 2016

"We've Been Old Friends All Through
The Years," Feb. 2014

What a joy it is to share a new painting today titled Where The Moon Dances on the Water which is 60"w x 48"h, acrylic on canvas. This piece was commissioned for a special place in a new home being built in the area. The clients looked at several options and decided on a piece was inspired by a canvas I had painting a couple years ago titled We've Been Old Friends All Through The Years. That painting found a home north of Grand Marais, MN, and it's fun to know that this painting will light up a new home with the warmth of a glowing moon and autumn birches at a lake. One additional challenge with this painting was that the clients desired copper colors in the piece. I tried copper colored metallic paint, and to be honest, the copper paint clashed with the golds I wanted to add in and I took a different approach. What I did was take several copper objects and view them by night to see what kind of tonal range the copper had, and used those rich dark copper colors to as a base to build upon. So the underbrush, the distant and foreground birches all have a rich rust color, with the bright coppers painted over that, with the golds increasing in brightness adding the icing on the cake ... or the sparkle on the lake. Have a wonderful weekend!
All my best, — A.Kloss

P.S. Prints of this and hundreds of my paintings are available, as well as special ordered originals to meet space and color choices, please email me if you'd like more information.

When Maples Turn Red

"When Maples Turn Red"  

This piece, along with the one from yesterday's post, were painted together and were both based off red maples in memory of a loved one of the person who commissioned the paintings. The blazing red maple forests were a joy to paint, providing an exciting challenge ... and who doesn't just love a red maple forest? In this piece, titled When Maples Turn Red, complementary blue skies pop the reds off the canvas, and perhaps I'll return to this subject soon, but for now I'm painting other commissioned work and so I'm off to the easel on a snowy day in northern Minnesota.

This piece corresponds to a book I'm reading titled 'When Maples Turn Red,' written by Richard King, here's a link to the book: http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore/details/9781478712282

Red Maples in Memory of Dick

I'm baaaaaack! I just wanted to start the first blog post of 2016 with something cool and I'm baaaaaack! is it. :)  I've taken a blog break as I've been focusing on finishing a list of commissioned paintings the likes of which I haven't ever seen. It's exciting and lots of work all at once, but it's also challenging and has me thinking outside my normal box of artistic inspiration and that's great. Normally this time of year sales are slow and I find myself wallowing in despair wondering if I'll ever paint again until temps warm up and gallery business picks up ... so commissioned work fits well into this time of the year.

Featured today is a painting that was commissioned at the end of 2015, titled Red Maples in Memory of Dick. This piece corresponds to a book I'm reading titled When Maples Turn Red, written by Richard King, here's a link to the book: http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore/details/9781478712282
I enjoyed the reds of this piece as much as I'm enjoying the book. Tomorrow I'll post a corresponding piece to this one ... here's to a new year full of color, inspiration and life.

The Great Northland (Commission)

"The Great Northland"  48"w x 30"h

Today's painting is a commissioned painting for a special customer. This piece, titled The Great Northland, is based off a painting from July 2013 titled Somewhere North of Here. I adjusted the size of this new piece to fit the space the painting was going to be displayed in, and even included a photo of the finished piece installed at left. What I enjoyed about this painting, and the first one, is the colorful trees and mysterious feeling you get from the bright moonlight reflecting off the lake. Compositionally, the foreground and the bottom and birch leaves at the top keep the eye moving around the piece, and the intensity of the color keeps the whole painting as the subject, vs. having only one object as the subject. The land I live in draws people from around the world annually, and it's not to visit one location, but to take in all the sights, sounds, and experiences this part of the world has to offer. This is the great northland. My work can be found in the fine galleries that represent me, and I'm also available for commissions, shoot me an email for more information. -Aaron