Vertical Gold

Acrylic on 8"w x 10"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This 8x10" painting for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery was created at the same time as the paintings in my last previous couple of posts and as the show has been hung and viewed the last week, I've enjoyed reflecting on my work for this show. So much time and creative energy goes into the work that I find myself enjoying the work and noticing things for the first time. Such is the case with this piece titled Vertical Gold. The depth of blues in the background gives me the feeling that I can see off into the distance. The bright gold sunset captures my imagination and the birches in the foreground are the icing on the cake.

Glowing Forest

Acrylic on 12"w x 16"h canvas
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$165.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This painting for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery was painted at the same time as yesterday's post titled Maple Glow and I wanted to feature them together. Both works have that look and feel of a painting that was created from the heart vs. a painting that was well planned. Many times I paint from images in my memory of places I've been. They are always memories that have stayed with me due to the color and overall feel of the place I'm thinking of. Today's post is titled Glowing Forest but it could also have been titled From the Heart.

Maple Glow

Acrylic on 8"w x 10"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Another painting for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery in a theme running through many of my works for the show. The theme features golden sunset skies and shadows in the foreground. Each work has a different degree of contrast, mostly due to the shade of the blue sky in the background. This work has a nice deep blue which to me represents the last light of the day, right before the sunset fades to twilight. The maple leaves are a rich golden yellow and they sparkle and reflect the leaves on the ground as well. I may live in an urban area but my heart is in the maple forest where all is quiet and peaceful and beautiful.

Blue Ridge Birches

Acrylic on 10"w x 8"h canvas
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$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This triptych for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery is one of many that uses deep blue pine ridges. This blue ridge element is yet another theme running through my work for this show like a common thread. The distant bright sunset complements the deep blue and the five foreground birches cast their shadows across the golden leaves covering the ground like a nice warm Autumn blanket.
'Nuff said. :)

Tiny Sunset Triptych

 Acrylic on Three 4"w x 4"h canvases
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SOLD

This triptych for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery used repetition as a design element. This painting has an unexpected element as well. Many times in painting, you have a plan and you try to execute that plan to the best of your abilities, but then something happens. The paint takes on a look and feel that surprises you and you find yourself 'wowed' by the result. With this piece, the yellows rising in the background have a transparency to them that wasn't planned. The yellows fade into golds that I would love to be able to replicate. The background sparkles and glitters, much like a sunset in the birch forests of northern Minnesota. :)

Midnight Sun

Acrylic on 16"w x 20"h canvas
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SOLD

This painting for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery features the moon as a central object to the composition. The distant deep blue pines and sky complement the bright yellows of the moon as it casts shadows on the foreground. The neat thing about this painting was watching people react to it the weekend that my show began. People were drawn into this painting, the moon just beckoned people to come closer. This piece has a calming effect and an energetic burst of energy all at the same time. I was a little more edgier with the brush strokes, intentionally wanted more of the black underpainting to be visible to add to the depth of color especially in the trees and sky. The original vision featured three birches but when this one was finished I realized the background was the subject matter and the foreground birch trees are just innocent bystanders, their bright bark shining in the late Autumn moonlight in the land of the midnight sun.

Watching & Waiting

 Acrylic on 6"w x 12"h canvas
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SOLD

This painting for my Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery is one last study that I painted before completing my large triptych titled 'Cardinals in Coversation'. With this piece I had the thought that I wanted to see how a bird would 'feel' if it were in the landscape by itself. Due to the size of the triptych I was going to paint, I knew that the birds would be spaced apart and that some would feel more isolated as opposed to two or three birds looking at each other. I also wanted the cardinals to have a human element to their positions in the landscape. When people get together, there are always little groups or circles and some individuals. That's just the way it is in life, some people thrive in group settings while others, like myself, thrive in solitude. Don't get me wrong, I love people, but I also love peace and quiet. That's not always easily accomplished with three grade school age kiddos at home lol! This cardinal was a favorite of mine, and it was to the person who purchased it. :)

Cardinals Carrying On

Acrylic on 3-6"w x 12"h canvases
Click on image above to enlarge.
$200.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This painting for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery was a study that I painted before completing yesterday's post 'Cardinals in Coversation'. I wanted to get a feel for the blue pine ridges and the twilight blue sky in the background to see how well they complemented each other. I knew the cardinals were going to pop off the canvas due to their red feathers, but I also wanted just the right shade of blue and I was very happy with this triptych. Color is so key to any painting, so naturally painting something blue that's supposed to be green can be challenging. As I was painting the blue pine ridges in the background I was reminded of a Colorado Blue Spruce tree in the neighbor's yard where I grew up. As a child I would count how many times I could say 'Blue Spruce' before I minced the words and I couldn't quite get past 3 times.

How many times can you say 'Blue Spruce?'

Go ahead, try it. I'll wait. lol.

Perhaps the cardinal on the right panel is annoyed at his two friends who have been able to say 'Blue Spruce' more times than him. :)

Cardinals in Conversation Triptych

Acrylic on 3-24"w x 36"h canvases
Click on image above to enlarge.
$1,500.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This painting for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery is the largest work of the show stretching out a full six feet wide by 3 feet tall. It is the largest work I've ever painted, consuming many hours and late nights to complete. There are five cardinals per panel, gathering and gabbing about whatever it is that bright red birds brag about. Perhaps they are concerned that the Vikings may leave Minnesota, maybe they are talking about how nice the weather must be down south ... or perhaps they are thinking about trying on a color other than red. It's up to the viewer to decide, but it's lots of fun to view this piece in person as the cardinals direct your eye all over the place, instead of taking in the image in one quick instant. The cardinal has such an interesting form with the spiked feathers at the top of their head, they really look like an arrow pointing. Get the point?

Childhood Memories

Acrylic on 20"w x 16"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$250.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

This painting for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery has a lot of memories attached to it. When I was growing up, there was a huge sugar maple tree in the front yard that had the brightest yellow leaves in the Autumn that I have ever seen. I remember coming home from school and playing around that tree, laying on the ground and looking up into the branches and bright yellow leaves while the blue sky sparkled through the leaves. Pictures have a way of drawing memories out of people, and that happens to me quite often where I have a vivid memory come to me while viewing artwork or photography. Sometimes when life gets difficult I want to go back to this place of innocence and safety where things were carefree and childhood memories were filled with bright yellow leaves, blue skies and warm sunshine.

Crab Apple Double Take Diptych

$300.00 Acrylic on 2-16"w x 12"h canvases
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

The last painting in my crab apple series for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery. This diptych has a nice motion to it, almost a wave like quality. According to my Minnesota math, there are 48 berries on the branches. Not sure the significance of the number, but I thought I'd count the berries anyway. :) This painting is unique in it's scale, I don't remember working on such a horizontal scale before, so I find myself viewing this piece differently, almost spending more time taking it in vs. my usual vertical scale. Working in this exaggerated landscape proportion has me thinking about other landscapes to paint, perhaps lake scenes and prairies ... oh, the many ideas I have ... Yesterday I dropped off all my pieces for the show to Blue Lake Gallery, and today I'm already prepping canvases for my next show. That will be six weeks from now, but I will continue to post individual works from my Tremendous Trees show here on my blog during the next several weeks, please stop back often! -A

Tiny Crab Apple Triptych

$60.00 Acrylic on 3-3"w x 3"h canvases
Click on image above to enlarge.
Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Yet another in my crab apple series for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery. These canvases are fun to display on a shelf, or hang on the wall. I prefer hanging them on a wall as they no doubt grab people's attention due to their small size, yet thick profile canvases. I had fun working with the backgrounds in this crab apple series. From deep cobalt blue to bright ultramarine blue, the skies behind the apples have rich depth of texture and color. I keep finding myself drawn to the background ... the bright red berries have been a great subject matter and it looks like I have one more crab apple work to share before I continue with other pieces from my Tremendous Trees show.

Skyward

Acrylic on 20"w x 16"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$250.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Yet another in my crab apple series for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery. The sun is the central feature of the composition, and yet the sun is the farthest object. The sun has appeared in many of the paintings in this show, and I'm still working out why. With art, many times deeper inner meaning is found at a much later date, and I have a feeling the reason for the brightness will be illuminated in the future. My first guess is it has to do with lighting dark areas of my life, but I'm not so sure. In my mind I've seen images of the sun consuming the entire composition with golden brilliance. Perhaps such images will appear on canvas, but for now they are etched into my mind and heart. And for now, it's back to prepping, wiring, and signing canvases. The show is coming soon! So are the crab apple buds that will yield to trees loaded with bright red apples ... a feast for the eyes, the birds, and the artists who love the taste of crab apple jelly on toast ... like me :)

Crab Apple Harvest

Acrylic on 8"w x 10"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Another in my crab apple series for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth. The depth of blues in this crab apple series makes them so visually interesting that after a while I don't focus on the branches or berries ... but on the background. The longer you view my work, I hope you will see the background and it's thousands of shades. The layers provide a glimpse into how I see images. They are comprised of layers of color and texture. There is more than meets the eye. There are more paintings to be completed for my show. Back to the easel I go ...

Crab Apple Cocktail

Acrylic on 8"w x 10"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Another in my crab apple series for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth. I'm just lovin' how the red and blue compliment each other. I could be wrong, but maybe that's why they are called complimentary colors. I may be going out on a limb by saying that. Anyway, this piece leads your eye from the top left corner down the branch to the right corner, then the apples lead you around and back up to the top left again. A simple little path through the piece that gives it movement and balance. I have a few more crab apple paintings to upload before I switch back to landscapes ... can't wait to share those! Many feature the sun and moon and bright sunrises and sunsets. Life is good. :)

Crab Apple Blast

Acrylic on 10"w x 8"h canvas
Click on image above to enlarge.
$65.00 Please contact Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth to purchase.

Last November I took at least 50 photos of a crab apple tree in Bemidji, MN that had dropped it's leaves but still had the colorful red apples on it's branches. (I'm wrestling with whether or not 'its' should have an apostrophe or not at the moment ... if you are an english lit. teacher please bear with me) :) I've painted several new works along this crab apple theme for my upcoming Tremendous Trees show at Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth. My daughter Autumn titled this piece 'Crab Apple Blast' as she viewed it as a blast of wind moving the apple.

This particular painting was inspired by a lone crab apple branch and fruit that was etched into my memory. I was so amazed at the thought of the apple hanging onto the branch while the wind blew hard against it that I just had to paint it. There are times in life when you feel as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders and all you can do is just hang on ... and I was encouraged by this little guy fighting the odds ... funny how so little an apple can captivate a soul. I went back into my photo collection to find the reference photo long after the painting was signed and completed and I was amazed at how similar the image in my memory was to the reference photo I never looked at when I was painting this piece. The mind and memory can be a powerful thing.

Tremendous Trees

While I haven't been very active on my painting blog as of late, I've been extremely busy preparing for my upcoming show at the Blue Lake Gallery in Duluth's Canal Park. Thirty new paintings will be finished by the end of next week and I'm excited and a little anxious at the same time for the show. My work lately has taken on some very intense vibrant color, coming from a place inside me that longs for warm summer days to replace the gray Spring weather. The work created for this show has a lot of spark, a lot of life, and, of course, a lot of trees. :) Birches, maples, crabapples, evergreens, colorful underbrush and deep blue skies filled with sparkling sun drops and long shadows will fill my exhibition space at the Blue Lake Gallery. Some spunky cardinals will occupy a 6' x 3' birch triptych which is the largest painting I've ever created. A wide range of canvas sizes will be available to meet anyone's size and price range. Please stop by gallery to view the show ... and return often as I'll be posting the paintings on this blog and my website in the coming days and weeks.

Summer is coming soon ... smile!