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.