Sunset Strip

Sunset Strip

On the last day of an unseasonably warm November, I thought it fitting to share a fun new piece titled Sunset Strip, recently brought in to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. This painting is 12x36, acrylic on canvas, and features white pine flanking a rocky river, with distant pine ridges in the background. But what really sets this painting apart is the dazzling gold sky, casting gold shadows on the foreground river banks and brightening the overall feel of the piece. I don't need to go to California to see the Sunset Strip, I just need to go out on the Lake Superior Trail on any given summer evening. So long summer, hello winter.

Welcome To Winter

With today's frosty temperatures, the first snowfall of the season, and the Christmas City of the North Parade all converging, I thought it fitting to share a new original titled Welcome to Winter. This piece measures 36x24" and features a winter birch forest with distant icy ridges, and a winter moon shining brightly in the sky. The long shadows in the foreground are a hint at the short days that feature below freezing temps and endless blue and white vistas. I've always struggled with the cold myself, but enjoy the season nonetheless. This piece was recently delivered to Lizzards Gallery in the wonderful winterland of Duluth MN. You betcha.

Winter Frost Chickadees

Today's painting is titled Winter Frost Chickadees, and is part of my ongoing series of winter chickadees. This series features a pale blue sky, lots of white, and gray tones, basically what winter looks like. These hardy chickadees don't mind the cold, they reside in Minnesota year round, unlike their migratory songbird friends who skip town when the cold rolls in. Sometimes I'm tempted to head south, but then I'd miss the winter frost chickadees. This piece was recently brought in to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN.

Sunset Sky Triptych

Here's a delightful little piece titled Sunset Sky Triptych, acrylic on 12"w x 4"h canvas, recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN. These bright cardinals on gold and crisp birch are sure to liven up any space. Have a great day, Aaron

Tiny Fall Forest

Here is a fun little triptych titled Tiny Fall Forest, 12"w recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN ... because I wish fall would last just a few months longer. :) Happy Wednesday!

Three Frost Dees

Here's a first of many chickadee paintings titled Three Frost Dees, acrylic on 8x10" canvas. The chickadee is a favorite of mine, residing in Minnesota year round, their familiar call and markings distinguishing them from the flock of songbirds that migrate annually. Long live the chickadee. This piece was recently brought in to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN.

An Autumn Hike

Today's painting is titled Autumn Hike, 36x24, and is a take on a favorite theme of mine, which is birch trees with colorful ridges behind them. What I also love is the space between the subject/foreground captures the eye ... essentially becoming the part of the piece that grabs the eye. We had a wonderful autumn season this year, and it looks like it's going to be another great week to spend time outdoors with temps approaching 60 by the end of the week ... which is a heat wave in this northern part of the world.  This painting was recently delivered to Siiviis Gallery in Duluth, MN.

Just Another Night in Northern Minnesota

I had a little fun with the title of this new 36x24" piece, with the title Just Another Night in Northern Minnesota. I implied that every night is like the one depicted in this painting, with a warm full moon reflecting off a lake with thousands of rich blue speckles dancing across the sky. Is that accurate? Well, I guess you just need to visit or move here to find out. :) From a warm summer night to a sub zero winter night, you find beauty in northern Minnesota .. that much is true. This piece was recently delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN.

Reach For The Stars

Reach For The Stars, 12x36", acrylic on canvas

This new 12"w x 36" acrylic on canvas is titled Reach For The Stars. Every once and a while an artist hits a home run with a work of art, and this is a home run. Whatever your dream is ... go out there and get it. That's what this lone white pine represents, as it's backlit by golden light and a starry sky which reflects in the waters in the foreground. This piece is part of a new group of work at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN

The Next Adventure

"The Next Adventure"

I was recently going through my photos and came across this piece which a commission I painted earlier this year for a local client. They were moving out of state and wanted a memory of Duluth that incorporated their frequent boat trips on lake Superior.  I love challenges and so I had to rely on my imagination a bit for this piece, using a perspective skill I learned in grade school to sketch out a balanced composition and then picked up my trusty paintbrush and I had a lot of fun while using a touch of imagination. So the result is a colorful summer painting of Duluth from the lake with a fictional thousand footer 'saltie' ore boat heading out on her next adventure, with a golden sunset sky glowing and the aerial bridge horn giving a final farewell salute.

“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” 

-Henry David Thoreau

Colorful Maples

Colorful Maples is the title of this new 30x15" acrylic on canvas. This piece was a donation to a local charity. While the leaves are bright and colorful in this painting, last night's powerful winds have stripped many of the trees of their fall leaves in the area. But it was a good color season, and I'm looking forward to the winter snow and upcoming holiday season. Happy Monday!

Walking Through Autumn Birches

"Walking Through Autumn Birches"  36"w x 24"h

Today's piece, titled Walking Through Autumn Birches, measures 36x24" and is one of those pieces where the title just says it all. We've had an incredible fall season here in Duluth, MN, and I regret that I've been so busy working that I haven't been able to enjoy it like I would want to. But I can always paint where my heart is at, and apparently, that is in a golden birch forest in northern Minnesota, which is a great place to be. Enjoy your weekend! A.Kloss
This piece was recently brought in to Lakeside Gallery in Duluth MN.

Treetops No. 1 and 2

Today's paintings feature a male and female cardinal, titled 'Treetops No. 1 and 2' respectively. They measure 6x6" on canvas, and I painted them on deep profile canvas so that they can be displayed on a wall or stand alone on a shelf. I often think of pairing paintings as bookends, perhaps to start and finish the story of a work of art as it progresses from the thought of the artist, through their hands to completion of the canvas (or whatever art form they are expressing themselves in). These little sweethearts are recently displayed for sale at my gallery, Lakeside Gallery, in Duluth, MN.

Blue Jay Moon Rays

This piece, titled Blue Jay Moon Rays, measures 8x10" and is a new acrylic on canvas recently delivered to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais. There has been many blue jays flying around my house, making lots of noise and chasing all the birds away. They sure are a pretty bird with their blue coloring, and impressive in size, and they are fun to paint. In this case, this blue jay is backlit by a moon, and is perched on a golden maple tree ... what a peaceful setting for such a noisy bird. :)

Falling Leaves

'Falling Leaves'

Today's piece, titled Falling Leaves, is a new 40x30" acrylic on canvas recently brought in to Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais, MN. This fun piece features a rich brown maple forest with colorful red, orange, and gold leaves. The maples at the top are decked out in color, and their leaves are quietly falling across the painting towards the forest floor which is covered in leaves. The distant ridges match the colorful spectacle, and the rich windsor blue provides a complementary background to the whole piece. The color saturation is intense in this piece, pointing towards the most colorful time of the year, the autumn season, and the deep blue sky is a reminder of the snowy season that follows. Hope you get to enjoy all the seasons have to offer this year.

Golden Dee Series

Today's paintings are titled Golden Dee Numbers 1-3 respectively, and measure 6x6" each. These acrylics on canvas have for a subject the chickadee, perched on a golden birch branch with a rich cobalt sky behind them. I paint a lot of birds, and always enjoy the expressions the birds often take. Usually this is by accident, but just a slight angle of the brushstroke can determine if a bird happy, sad, angry, or curious. I'll let you decide what you think these birds are feeling, and if you're feeling like collecting these, they were recently delivered to Lizzards Gallery in Duluth, MN