Early Spring Robin Nest

"Early Spring Robin Nest" 10"w x 10"h

"Worm Wrangler" Private Collection

Today's painting, titled Early Spring Robin Nest, features a robin's nest with four eggs on a matching blue background. This piece, like yesterday's, is based on memory. The robins built their nests this year amongst leafless trees due to the late spring we had here in Duluth. It probably wasn't the best situation for the birds as the nests aren't sheltered very well from predators, but it was a good situation for watching the nest building birds. The cold, damp spring had a plus for the robins, though, as they had all the worms they could gobble down crawling around on the pavement. Whenever I see a robin pulling a worm out of the ground I'm filled with amazement and disgust all at once. The thought of eating a worm isn't a problem for these birds, though, as they hop around on the lawn, somehow always knowing where the worms are crawling just below the grass. With this piece, I enjoyed playing with the composition, working the branches of the tree to reflect the swirling motion of the nest. The background is plain and simple, focusing the attention on the eggs in the center of the piece. The tree and the eggs have one thing in common, they are both on the verge of breaking forth into new life ... budding and breaking to signal the new season of spring greens and summer breezes. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN for more information on this piece and many other works in all shapes and sizes.

Cedar Waxwings

"Cedar Waxwings" 10"w x 10"h

Just when I think I've seen every bird there is in northern Minnesota, a new bird flies into town. This spring I had the delightful experience of watching four cedar waxwing couples build nests and eat the remaining berries off the mountain ash in by backyard. I always wondered which bird ate the berries, and I can see why they liked my yard as my trees had many dried berries hanging on their branches. I suppose a full bird bath and multiple bird feeders didn't hurt either. The cedar waxwings have the most interesting feather coloring. On the tips of their wings and tail there is a bright red and yellow, and their bodies have a streamlined look to them, so I could resist painting them, and this piece is titled Cedar Waxwings and is 10"w x 10"h. They appeared to be very territorial, often chasing away robins, starlings, and any other bird that ventured too close.

They chose to build their nests in the gutters of my house along the upper roofline, and try as I might to change their minds, they just didn't listen to me. A couple weeks later I was treated to the cheep cheeps of baby birds as I drank my morning coffee, and frankly, it was a bit much at times as I'm sure I could also hear the starling and robin chicks squaking for morning breakfast to be delivered. Not every story has a happy ending, however, and after we received a weekend downpour of several inches of rain, the cheep cheeps of the chicks and colorful feathers and song of the cedar waxwings were never heard again. But it still doesn't diminish the wonderful experience I had watching these birds in the trees and lasting impression they made on me. Please contact Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais for more information on this piece.

Northland Kaleidoscope Opening Reception tonight

Tonight is the opening reception for my show titled 'Northland Kaleidoscope' at Your Art's Desire Gallery and I'll be there from 6:30-9:00 p.m. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hi! The gallery is located at 12928 Minnetonka Blvd. in Minnetonka, MN
www.yourartsdesiremtka.com

Cadmium Sky Cardinal No. 1

Cadmium Sky Cardinal No. 1, 6"w x 8"h

Today's painting is titled Cadmium Sky Cardinal No. 1 and is one of a three part series. They could be purchased as a triptych or individually, I just felt as though each of the three was strong enough to stand alone as so I chose to feature them individually. The background is very exciting with the bright cadmium sky playing off the deep cobalt blues and greens. The cardinal in this piece must think this vibrant colorful background is just the perfect compliment to it's red feathers, and I say I must agree.
Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on this piece.

Minnetonka's Majestic Maples

"Minnetonka's Majestic Maples" 72"w x 36"h

From early childhood memories and on up to high school days there is a stretch of road I enjoyed traveling on. The road went up and down hills and around tight curves like an old road would do. With new roads, they just flatten everything and you just can't beat an old road for a Sunday drive. I remember the road being named Shoreline drive, and there was also a road numbered 101 that had a nice bridge. Anyways, these roads would get really close to the water, almost like you're getting as close to the lake as you're driving without plunging into the water. The builders of these roads must have had a real love of lake Minnetonka, and endeavored to make traveling around the lake as pleasurable as possible. With the fond memories of these roads and lake in mind, I created a triptych painting from memory titled Minnetonka's Majestic Maples. Working from memory is often challenging as I have several images in mind and I try to get the images as close to the memory as possible. I remembered vividly looking through the trees as I traveled around the lake, the season was late Autumn, and the leaves of the trees were almost done with their fall color and had begun to turn shades of brown. This piece uses brown, or burnt sienna as the paint is called, as an underpainting that really gives the piece a sense of time, almost as if it was painted long ago. I think it's the golds of the leaves and browns underneath playing off eachother that gives that feeling of time. And the memories may be thirty years old, but I can remember them like they were yesterday, almost like I was riding around the lake as a child, staring out the window at the lake through the maples ...

Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN for more information on this piece.

Lake Superior Sunrise

"Lake Superior Sunrise" 36"w x 24"h

Featured today is a piece titled Lake Superior Sunrise which is 36"w x 24"h. The titled reflects the painting which reflects on a sunrise reflecting off Lake Superior. As I've been reflecting on this piece, I've been really enjoying the sun speckled skies that have found their way into my work, and when these paintings are finished I find myself wondering how they came to be. Really, it's just the process of adding paint to the canvas, layering color until the painting feels finished. A lake Superior sunrise just has to be experienced ... the rich blues, the golden sun, the waves crashing on the stones ... ahhhhhh .... reflect on that for a while. Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN for more information on this piece.

A Peaceful Place

"A Peaceful Place" 36"w x 12"h

I just couldn't resist giving this painting the title of how I felt when it was finished and I sat back in my chair with the thought that comes to mind when I add the last brush stroke. 'What to title this one?' Well, this is the thought that came to mine ... a peaceful place ... and so the painting was officially finished. The title for each piece just comes to mind as I work, although every so often I set out to paint something with the title in mind, and that is usually with the larger works. This painting features textural birches with gold maples and underbrush against a summer sky. While it has a unique depth of color with the burnt sienna underpainting and distinct brush strokes, for me, it's just a peaceful place. Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN for more information on this piece.

Cobalt Harvest

"Cobalt Harvest"  6"w x 12"h

Today's painting titled Cobalt Harvest is another piece from my Northland Kaleidoscope show at Your Arts Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN. There are a few night paintings in the group of work, and each one is very rich in color and mysterious as night paintings always seem to be for me. They are also an interesting challenge ... how do you decide how bright the color value should be in a night scene where everything is so dark and the details are difficult to make out? Perhaps that's why I put so much emphasis on the sky in the night paintings ... the intensifying color value radiating from the moon really becomes the subject of the piece and the foreground elements are almost an afterthought. Such it is with my work ... I'm always emphasizing the elements of composition such as the sky and the negative spaces that most other painters brush aside. (That's my sad attempt of humor by the way, you better laugh 'cause I can't come up with anything funnier at the moment) ... so there you have it. A harvest of cobalt blue on canvas with the full harvest moon smiling down on the scene. Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN for more information on this piece.

Suncatchers

"Suncatchers" 36"w x 24"h, Your Art's Desire Gallery, Minnetonka, MN

   Here is new work titled Suncatchers that is part of a new group of works for my upcoming show titled Northland Kaleidoscope which can be viewed at Your Arts Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN during the month of June 2014. The opening reception is Saturday, May 31st from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Please stop by and say hi if you're in the area.

   The show is full of new work, some old favorites, a few favorites that make the connection to the Duluth area where I live and work ... and there's a grand total of sixty paintings ranging in size from 4"x4" all the way up to 72"x36". I tried to include all the seasons and subjects I've been working in ... from songbirds to birch trees, peaceful forests, stones, lakes, streams, pines and the sun, moon and stars. I'm especially fond of the new work for the show, works such as this one posted here today that incorporate a central light source such as the sun and range in color value from bright ultramarine white all the way to black.

   I've put so much into this show that I'm finding myself needing to spend some time with the sketchbook and take some hikes through Lester Park by my home here to recharge my batteries. I'm sure I'll pick up the brush yet again but for now I'm content to view the new work and look forward to the opening reception of the largest body of my work ever assembled. :)

Please contact Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka, MN for more information on this piece.

Duluth Gallery Hop

If you're in the Duluth area today please stop by the Duluth Gallery Hop. Many galleries are participating, and it's always a good time. Artists feature new works at the gallery hop, and many are spring themed, which is a great way to kick off the spring season. I have new works at Siiviis Gallery in the Canal Park area of Duluth ... Lady Slippers, Tulips and more. And at Lizzards Gallery in Downtown Duluth I have many new spring themed works, along with several new ladyslipper paintings.

For more information on the gallery hop, please visit http://duluthgalleryhop.com/index.html

Spring Maple Forest

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

It won't be long until the maples are budding, there's warm southerly breezes and the songbirds are singing ... I kept telling myself today as I shoveled the last of the snow off the deck this afternoon on a cold gray 40 degree day. Please contact Lizzard's Gallery for more information on this painting.

Budding Birch Forest

"Budding Birch Forest" 20"w x 16"h Siiviis Gallery, Duluth MN

Today's painting is a 20"w x 16"h canvas titled Budding Birch Forest. This piece is along a series I've enjoyed working with recently that features a lake and places the shoreline across the lake right across the middle of the composition. I find the distant shoreline, along with the foreground rocks, birches and shrubs to be a very interesting visual play of elements. The lake and sky are also fascinating to me, each having a different saturation of blue. The snow is melting fast around here today, it won't be long before the ice is off the lakes and the birches are budding.
Please contact Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN for more information on this piece.

With Love, From Minnesota

"With Love, From Minnesota" 72"w x 36"h

Here is a new work which is as wide as I am tall...6 feet! This triptych is 72"w x 36"h, and titled With Love, From Minnesota. I sure enjoy this piece which features golden birches on any given lake in northern Minnesota in the autumn season. The sun sparkles through the sky and the water in this piece, and the rocks and underbrush bring back fond childhood memories of growing up in Minnesota, and I couldn't help but title this painting as if closing a letter that was written with love, from Minnesota.

Friendly Little Fellas

"Friendly Little Fellas"  12"w x 4"h

If I was a bird, I'd want to be a chickadee. That's all there is to it. They are just the friendliest little bird ever. This painting is titled Friendly Little Fellas and is available at Siiviis Gallery in Canal Park, Duluth, MN.

Quiet Solitude

"Quiet Solitude" Diptych, 72"w x 24"h

Here is piece that endeavors to capture the feeling of a quiet birch and maple forest during the last light of the day. The foreground gold and burnt sienna underbrush fade to a deep rich black and so does the cobalt sky in the distance. The maple leaves sparkle on the trees as the sun dances off them, and the birch hide in plain sight in the foreground. Some of my favorite comments have come from people who don't notice the birch trees right way as they focus on the background ... neither of which is the focus of this work, in a busy, noisy, hectic world, the quiet solitude of the birch forest beckons to be seen and experienced. Nuff said.

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.