On The Western Skyline

Today's post is titled On The Western Skyline, and is an 8"w x 10"h acrylic on canvas. This painting was purchased for a wedding gift, and I'm sure the wedding celebration on Minnesota's north shore was filled with color, warmth and life just as this piece is. I don't know where 99% of all the pieces I've ever painted end up, but maybe that's ok, just the thought that I've brightened someone's day and brought a smile to their face is all I need. :)

Deep Purple Sky

"Deep Purple Sky" 20"w x 10"h

Today's post is titled Deep Purple Sky, and is 20"w x 10"h, acrylic on canvas. This painting was originally going to be included in the book I illustrated this past year titled Christmas Here in Northern Lands, but ended up not making the final cut. A lot of that had to do with how to fit words onto the image ... do you stagger them between the birch trees? Well, I learned a lot from that project, and while I love landscapes, birch trees, and color ... these elements don't necessarily translate well into type and image, and that's just something to remember the next time I illustrate a book. Will there be a next time? We'll just have to see. For now, I'm enjoying painting landscapes and enjoying the winter season and the blues and purples of the shadows on the snow. 

Please contact Siiviis Gallery 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.

Spring Ahead

"Spring Ahead"  30"w x 15"h

Today's painting, titled Spring Ahead, 30"w x 15"h, may have been influenced by a certain time change that leaves groggy people wishing they had an hour of sleep back, but to me the time change signifies a new season. I often paint seasonally, modifying my color palette to reflect the color of the landscape while I'm working. But this spring has influenced me in a profound way to paint with green in such a way as I never have before. I've enjoyed exploring this color in all it's hues and saturations. This piece features many greens and golds. The birch forest offers you a colorful glimpse into the spring color that is marching across the land and casting bright green shadows on the forest floor. And the sky mimics the blues I'm currently viewing out the studio window as I type this post. Spring. The season of green, the season of new life, the season of songbirds, leaves and leaves. I don't know about you but I'd trade an hour of sleep for warmth, color and life any day of the week. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on this piece. 

Spring Lake Shadows

"Spring Lake Shadows"  30"w x 24"h

While I haven't been too active blogging these days, I have been working on some bright new pieces. The winter often compels me to hibernate, but it won't be long before Spring arrives, and that thought inspired this painting titled Spring Lake Shadows. Every year I challenge myself with new subjects, compositions, and colors. My style has been consistent over the years, and I've never felt like departing from my signature singular brush stroke. But I'm working on exciting new adventures in painting, which I'll be sharing here from time to time. In the meantime, enjoy this spring themed northwoods lake which is saturated in greens, golds and blues ... and think warm thoughts. :)
-Aaron

Moonlight Brilliance

"Moonlight Brilliance"  12"w x 24"h

I'm not much of an astronomer, but I do enjoy an evening sky. When the moon is full in the northwoods, it glows through the trees, casting shadows of trees, and truly is a joy to behold. There is also something particularly interesting about a full moon during the fall, it seems to glow brighter, and around this time every year I feel compelled to paint the moon, especially with deep blues such as are used in this 12"w x 24"h piece titled Moonlight Brilliance. The crisp white birches radiate the brightness of the moon, while the cool blues of the ridges and sky add the contrast that gives a night painting it's punch. There are also stars twinkling in the sky, lighting up the night. Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery for additional information on this piece.

Serenity

"Serenity"  6"w x 12"h

Here is a lovely little landscape titled Serenity featuring five golden birches, and the shadows in the foreground have a nice almost transparent quality to them .. almost like rustling leaves. Every painting has a sweet spot as I like to call it, a place in the painting that draws attention, or accomplishes something. I'd compare it to a carpenter finishing a piece and noticing a nice woodgrain that wasn't obvious until the final varnish was applied. Sweet.
Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery for additional information on this piece.

Aspire

"Aspire" 12"w x 24"h

This piece was painted alongside another painting which I featured on yesterday's post titled Ever Reaching. This painting, titled Aspire, has one white pine as it's focal point, along with five maples on a ridge behind it. While I added in my usual elements, such as rocks, shadows, color, etc ... I really focused on the branches of the white pine in this piece. As I've been driving around Duluth, I've been noticing how interesting the forms of the white pines are. They don't grow straight or predictable branches such as you'd find in a spruce. Their branches jut out every which way, often with larger branches in the middle of the tree, and small branches above and below. Perhaps that's why I like the white pines, they're not afraid to be different. Logging in northern Minnesota has taken it's toll on these majestic trees, but you'll still find them in areas too difficult to reach by foot, or in the yards of homes built over a hundred years ago. Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information on today's piece.

In The Hands of Time

"In The Hands of Time" 40"w x 30"h

This painting was for me a welcoming return to the subject matter that captured my heart when I began painting several years ago. Red and gold maples play off each other in repetition of form and color against a deep cobalt blue background. This piece is available at Lizzards Gallery in Duluth, MN.

Bright Autumn Sky

"Bright Autumn Sky", 12"w x 36"

Yet another piece created on a rainy day. The darker, grayer, colder & wetter the weather outside, the brighter and warmer the paintings get in the studio. :) On the easel now are several green birch scapes that I'm eager to share next week. For now, the sun is shining, it's Friday, and life is good. Have a great weekend! -A

Please contact Jeff at Lizzards Gallery if you'd like some more information on this painting.

Spring Shadows Triptych

"Spring Shadows Triptych" 12"w x 12"h

Here in northern Minnesota the trees are just beginning to bud and the grass has finally started popping out of the ground. The anticipation of the season has people doing all kinds of activities outside, walking through the garden centers, thinking about what they'd like to plant in their flower beds and gardens. I've been thinking along these lines as well ... glancing into the endless birch forests around my home in Duluth as I drive and go for walks. Dreaming about what I may paint next ... so many ideas, so little time. :) One thing I do know ... greens, golds, cobalts, burnt siennas and the occasional crimson will be making their way onto the canvas. I've just completed a large series of spring themed works and sent them off to the galleries. Now the studio is empty, waiting for the next canvases to come to life. I'm thinking I'll begin another major work .. perhaps 30"x40" or so .. we'll see. Happy Sunday! -Aaron

Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on today's painting.

Spring Forest Shadows

"Spring Forest Shadows" 16"w x 20"h

It's soooooooooo nice to be painting with green again! I've been on a green binge here as of late ... completing 20 new works on canvas which will be uploaded here over the next couple weeks. Today's piece features shadows formed from the multiple layers of green on the burnt sienna foreground. Also the birches and maples together is a rare theme for me ... perhaps I should explore this theme more often ... perhaps I should go hiking and explore some more landscapes ... perhaps ... I should just get back to the easel.

It's difficult to explain, but I go through creative phases, almost like mountains and valleys ... and I'm on the mountain now, painting like there's no tomorrow. When the creativity hits, you just have to run with it.  :)

Please stop back soon ... and if you'd like more info. on today's piece, please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN

-A

Birch Forest Blues

"Birch Forest Blues" 10"w x 10"h

This night painting has a very calming effect on me. Life has been a little too fast and the cobalt blue skies and deep foreground shadows make me want to pause and take it all in. This piece is featured on my Daily Paintworks page ... which is an online artist community. I don't frequently post there, I just enjoy the fellowship and will add work every so often so they can get a feel for my style. That's all for now, happy Friday!!
-A

For more information on today's painting, please visit:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/aaron-kloss/birch-forest-blues/129399