Red Maple Sunset

"Red Maple Sunset" 12"w x 12"h

I don't know if other artists do this ... but I enjoy changing my palette on almost a daily basis. Paintings will be cool and loaded with cobalt blues, greys and ultramarine blues ... then it's on to deep evergreens ... then high contrast cardinals only to return to the colors that began it all, the colors of autumn. Hiking through the woods in the autumn season is something I long to do all year round. It brings back warm childhood memories and the colorful leaves and crisp cool air make the experience one to remember. Times like that influence my work year round, such as this piece featuring warm golds and crimsons along with burnt sienna. Red Maple Sunset ... a piece that warms my soul and brings a smile to my face. :)

Please contact Z Place Gallery in Ironwood, MI for more information on today's piece.

Spring Rocks

"Spring Rocks" 6"w x 6"h

Today's painting titled Spring Rocks may be a play on words, but it's also a simple, honest view of what I view on a daily basis here in Duluth, MN. My studio is located at the base of a steep hill that's covered with huge outcroppings of bluestone and thick birch and maple forests. I went for a hike through the neighborhood this morning and enjoyed the woods and wildlife as I went. My cocker spaniel did a good job of pulling me up the hill as usual ... and I did a good job of pulling the pooped out pooch back down the hill. The view at the top is amazing ... endless miles of lake Superior. I paused to watch a 1,000 freighter pulling into the harbor through the aerial lift bridge and also enjoyed the sun sparkling off the great lake. It's an amazing place to call home. I'll have to post some pics of this place in the future .. in fact, it would be fun to start a blog about this area to chronicle the photos I like to take. We'll see. It's going to be a beautiful sunny day, it will be hard to stay in the studio. Spring rocks. :)

For more information about today's piece, please contact Siiviis Gallery here in Duluth, MN.

Spring Sprang Sprung

"Spring Sprang Sprung" 18"w x 12"h

"Spring Cardinal No. 2" 4"w x 4"

I thought some bright spring cardinals would be in order for today. I'm getting over a nasty flu virus and it's good to get back on my feet again. It's been quite a winter, sometimes you want to put on a smile and tell everyone life is great, but honestly it's been a bit of a battle as of late. Perhaps that's the mountains and valleys of life. I remember hiking through Wyoming's Bliss Creek Valley as a Boy Scout. The mountains were incredible, hiking up and down switchback trails that weren't fit for a horse. We'd get to the base of the mountains where the creeks and rivers ran and it was cool and shady. The water was refreshing and I wanted to stay there, yet I knew we would soon depart yet again to climb another mountain. If you can find a way to embrace those mountains, the valleys are just icing on a cake ... that'll put a smile on your face. :)

Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on today's pieces.

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 At The Lake

"Spring At The Lake", 18"w x 18"h

Here in Duluth we've struggled to reach 40 degrees lately while everywhere else in the region is in the 60's and even 70's. That's life by the big lake, it keeps you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Normally I enjoy the cooler weather in the summer but during the spring and fall it is a little on the chilly side. Nevertheless, the lake has inspired this piece ... birches dressed in green spring leaves along the lake along with a distant evergreen ridge. The golden sun sparkles in the sky and all the elements familiar to the northern Minnesota landscape are included ... rocks, water, trees. Get out and enjoy the spring ... and if you're in Duluth, bring warm clothes lol. :)

Please contact Z Place Gallery in Ironwood, MI for more information on today's piece.

The Gift of Gab

"The Gift of Gab" 20"w x 16"h

"Spring Cardinal No. 1" 4"w x 4"h

Today's painting titled The Gift of Gab features a theme that always brings a smile to my face. Birds looking towards one another as if in conversation. their beaks and feathers spiked on top of their heads is a natural arrow, directing the eye. From purely a visual standpoint, I've enjoyed painting the cardinal as the bright red captures your eye even from a distance and I find people talking about the cardinals probably the most of any theme I've worked with. From a more personal view, the collection of birds on the canvas could be my response to the long quiet hours in the studio. Part of me loves the quiet solitude, part of me longs for fellowship and that's the life of the artist. Like it or not, the you have to learn to embrace the quiet solitude as it's here where the thoughts and ideas come from. I suppose I'd better stop before I get too deep and introspective. :) My plan is to alternate between cardinal compositions and landscapes on the blog for the next couple weeks to keep it interesting.

Please stop back soon ... I'm off to the quiet solitude. TGIF. -A

Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on today's pieces.

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

Forest Shadows

"Forest Shadows" 20"w x 16"h, Riverwood Gallery, Eau Claire, WI

While the theater of seasons continues here in Duluth, Minnesota ... I've been influenced by the weather myself to switch between fall, winter and spring subjects. One day, it's sunny and 65, the next day, it's raining/sleeting and 35 degrees, the next day... you get the idea. We usually go through a month or so of this before things settle down. While I love summer, I also love the climate here where I live. Lake Superior keeps us cool in the summer and takes the edge off the cold in the winter by adding some humidity to the atmosphere and keeping the temps sometimes 10 or more degrees warmer than just a few miles away. So here's a 20"w x 16"h piece titled Forest Shadows that features golden maples and a rich crimson red distant ridge. I've been pushing the contrast a bit as late with my color ... working really hard to get that 'spark' that I've been feeling in my heart yet chasing it down on the canvas. Part of life as a painter ... getting what you feel inside to work it's way onto the canvas. It's a struggle that I embrace, it pushes me to carry on ...

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

On the easel this week is a selection of Spring cardinals and other landscapes for Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN and Siiviis Gallery here in Duluth, MN. :)

Spring Birch Row

"Spring Birch Row" 18"w x 6"h

Snow is still forecasted here in Duluth the next couple days, and since spring fever is setting in big time, I'm fighting back by posting spring paintings. :) Maybe I'll just keep painting spring themes 'til old man winter packs his frosty bags and hits the road for a while.

Three layers of green and a distant gold ridge fill up the space between the birches, along with a bright cobalt blue sky. Spring is on the way ... I just know it!

Spring Birch Forest

"Spring Birch Forest" 18"w x 18"h

Snowflakes are falling in Duluth, MN as I type this blog entry. I'll never forget this winter, that's for sure. I'll never forget it if never ends either! lol. Spring will be here soon ... I just know it! Maybe next week ... here's hoping.

This painting features three layers of green in the background, along with a gold ridge ... and of course the multiple shades of green in the leaves of the birches. These trees are something different for me .. they have black branches as opposed to the white branches I've always painted. I'm not sure if I like them better or not at the moment. Maybe they'll grow on me. :) Maybe the trees will start budding and growing leaves here too ... maybe soon ...

Spring Lake Triptych

"Spring Lake Triptych" 18"w x 12"h, April 2013

As of 7:00 a.m. the Duluth International Airport is reporting that 17.7 inches of snow has fallen in the past 24 hours. Oh yeah, by the way it's April 19th. I'm officially done with winterscapes for the year, so here's a painting of a lake that pictures what I'd like to see out the window. But, alas, out the window is a winter wonderland and I'll be putting down my paintbrush and picking up a shovel today.

Please contact Stone's Throw Gallery in Bayfield, WI for more information on this piece.

Maple Forest Majesty

"Maple Forest Majesty", 18"w x 18"h, April 2013

Today's post features an autumn themed maple forest. The weather lately has been seriously messing with me. It was 50 and sunny a few weeks ago and now we're facing another foot of potential snow. It's supposed to snow the next three days straight here in Duluth, MN. Normally, we're warming up towards spring, yet we're in the midst of winter now. Go figure. So with the theater of changing seasons outside, the seasons are changing inside the studio. This painting is going to be hard to part with, I had soooooo much fun with the crimson and golds with this piece, adding layer upon layer of rich paint against the deep gray-blue sky background. The stones sparkle, along with the golds in the foreground that dance across the burnt sienna forest floor.

Perhaps I needed to paint this one to warm up my soul. The winter has been long, I used to be a painter and now find myself a professional snow shoveler. Haha. Please stop back soon, new works will be uploaded on a regular basis ... including several spring birch compositions that I've recently completed.

Let it snow ....

Please contact Stone's Throw Gallery in Bayfield, WI for more information on this piece.

Va Bene

"Va Bene", 24"w x 12"h, April 2013

Today's post features a recent commission I painted for Va Bene restaurant here in Duluth, MN. They wanted a moon shining on Lake Superior, along with the prominent pine tree and the building itself. It was a fun challenge. Painting a building is one thing, painting one at night is quite another. I chose to give the windows a warm glow effect and I'm pleased with the results as they warm golds compliment the deep cobalt blue night sky. The red accents on the building also compliment the background and the crisp cream color of the building gives quite a contrasting punch. I enjoyed adding in some of the signage on the building like this detail on the left that shows the left side of the door with the restaurant logo on the sign and the window with 'Dolci' above. I could go for some dolci right about now. :)

Don't Stop Believin'

"Don't Stop Believin'", Acrylic on 48"w x 36"h canvas, April 2013

There has been a lull of sorts in my blog posts as of late. This is not by choice, but life happens and so I need to roll with the punches. I'm a very introspective type of person who doesn't like to share too much, but I thought I'd share a little today on the significance of this painting. I was diagnosed with MS about 10 years ago, and while I've managed to stay healthy, every once and a while it gets the best of me and knocks me off my horse for a while. Recently I had an attack, first one in seven years, and I didn't want to create or produce any artwork for several weeks. It's kinda strange, really .. someone who has always been an artist not wanting to make art .. but I pulled through and I'm still going. I picked up my brushes once again and painted what I would say is one of the most ambitious works I've ever created. Using a small brush and many layers I created a large scale vibrant painting which I titled Don't Stop Believin'. The title says it all ...

Please stop back soon, more works will be coming in the next couple weeks ... so exciting. :)

Please contact Lizzards Gallery for more information on this painting.

Misty Morning Birches

"Misty Morning Birches" 40"w x 16"h

The fascination with the birch tree continues. The crisp white bark with it's distinctive black markings compel me to capture on canvas what I view. I just love a birch forest with fall color ... the way the color plays with the eye when contrasted with the birch bark ... just love it. On the easel now is a 48"x36" birch forest ... the canvas is calling, gotta go. :)

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

Fireside Birches

"Fireside Birches" 30"w x 10"h

Here's a new work available at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN titled Fireside Birches. I started this one during a presentation in February at the gallery, and I originally wanted this one to be just a simple blue sky background that would contrast nicely with the birch trees. But as I worked on it, I just felt the warm colors of autumn tugging at me and just had to answer the call. I finished this one during a stretch of cold weather so it's only natural to be thinking about warm colors. :) Speaking of warm, the weather is finally turning here in Duluth, MN .. old man winter is packing his bags .. bring on spring!

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