Warm in November, Oil on Linen, 12x16

(reworked December 2. More sunshine added December 14.)

Anticipation was the name of the game here. There were just enough clouds in the sky that I suspected that the the golden hour was going be fantastic. So I set up in a location where I figured I would have a good composition and color without being blinded by the setting sun. Then it was a matter of planning the painting so I would be able to capture the illusive colors as quickly as possible when they appeared. I was constantly asking myself questions like, "where will that shadow be in an hour? What color will the grass be when the sky turns yellow. When you look at a plein air painting, you should be able to tell what time of day it is. Forget the fact that it took the artist 3 or 4 hours to complete the painting, during which time the lighting was constantly changing. 

There is a great video you may have seen on public TV this week. It was made during the Grand Marais Paintout this summer. I competed in that paint out but not the "quick paint" portion which the video focuses on. I think the producers did a great job of capturing what a plein air painter is up against. Click here to watch the video. You'll see some friends of mine in action.

Lion's Park, 12x9, Oil on Linen

There's an Outdoor Painters of Minnesota show that will be opening soon at the The Frameworks here in Saint Paul this weekend. The reception is Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7pm, The FrameWorks, 2022 Ford Parkway. I am going to enter several paintings including this one, so you might see it there. If not, it will still be a good show to see. We have some extraordinarily talented members.

From the Fort, Oil on Linen, 12x9

Painted in August, I realized that I had not shot it yet. I have now.

October, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Another beautiful day to paint; 65º and calm and a wedding going on behind me.

Mid-morning Moonset (SOLD)

On the way to the Parley Lake Winery paint out we were stopped dead in our tracks by this scene.

Bringing in the Crop

Painted this weekend at the Parley Lake Winery, I was setting up my easel as these guys were picking the last grapes for the season. I was there as part of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota paint out. 

Rieck’s Lake, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

Once, Rieck’s Lake was an open body of water. Settlers cleared the trees and plowed the land. Without the protective cover, soil from the Buffalo River watershed filled Riecks Lake. In 1935 Lock and Dam 4 was built. The Mississippi River submerged Rieck’s Lake with eight feet of water. In the years since, erosion is again filling Rieck’s Lake. In 2003 landowners, with a DNR grant, installed 42 erosion control dams and 24 acres of grassed waterways to slow the erosion.

Raising of the Flag, Oil on Linen, 12x16

The vast majority of my plein air paintings are done in the late afternoon and early evening. If you are going to paint in the morning and capture the good colors, you have to get up pretty early. This is one I did last Friday morning at the Fort Snelling Historic Site. I was pretty much done with the painting by the time they shot off the cannon and raised the flag. I liked the way the light only shone through the very bottom of the flag leaving the rest sort of muted and understated. I didn't want to do another flag waving proudly in the wind painting. That wasn't the day. It was quiet and serene with practically no wind.

Dodge in Gold, Oil on Linen, 12x16

There is starting to be a backlog of paintings in my studio that were painted on location and need a little studio touch-up and photo documentation. It's always hard for me to paint indoors when the weather is nice, but I have to. The Saint Paul Art Crawl is Oct 7-9 and I want to have a lot of new art for it. 

You have one more week to see the PAN show at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI, and the same for the show at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in  Grand Marais MN.

The Backwater, Oil on Linen, 24x36
updated 1/8/13

Yesterday my wife reminded me that I haven't posted anything in quite awhile. It's not that I haven't been painting; I have. I just haven't finished one in a while. This painting is a perfect example. It still needs something, but today I was pleased enough with the progress so far that I decided to share it with you in it's incomplete state.

This 24x36 painting is from a 12x16 I did last year. On that painting, I painted the egret while she fished. That's easy to do; they hold perfectly still while they stalk their prey. But while I was painting, a second egret flew into the scene. At the time I thought it would make a nice painting. This is what I remember seeing.

Pigeon River, Oil on Linen, 9x12

Lake Kimball, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

Devil's Track River, Oil on Linen, 12x9

Above is a small sampling of the paintings from the Grand Marais  paintout. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I was shooting them at our camp site as I framed them.

 If you are up in Grand Marais between now and September 26, be sure to take in the show at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery. Somebody can correct my numbers but I'm guessing there are about 200 paintings by about 30 to 40 artists that all took part in the event.

If you're in Hudson, WI, before September 25, be sure to take in the Project Art for Nature show at the Phipps Center for the Arts.

And of course, there is always the St. Paul Art Crawl October 7-9. Jerri Jo and I will be in my studio at 275 E 4th street in lovely downtown Saint Paul.

Parley Lake Winery, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Thank you Parley Lake Winery and Deardorff Vinyards for hosting the August Outdoor Painters of Minnesota Paintout. We had a great time.

Across the Wide Expanse, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Here is another view of Lake Pepin. I never tire of this lake. We saw a large flock of pelicans circling over us, more eagles than we could count, and dozens of song birds serenaded us while we painted. The deer got pretty close before they noticed us. I like that about plein air painting. You stand in one place long enough, animals will come right up close, either out of curiosity or because you are so quiet and immersed in your painting that they don't see you as a threat.

Smooth Sailing, Oil on Linen, 12x16

Later in the same day we were on the Minnesota side of Lake Pepin when we came across this lovely view of the lake. it illustrates several of the themes I am concentrating on. This little native garden in the foreground with its long sponge-like roots absorbs pollutants before they reach the lake. The Kentucky blue grass with its short roots, does not. Pepin is a haven for sail boats, but trains regularily whiz along its shores and of course there are the barges (not shown) and pleasure craft of every description. Pepin, after all is just a widening of the mighty Mississippi, one of the busiest and most beautiful waterways of the world.

The Bottoms from Above, Oil on linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

We got to this location early Sunday morning. It had just poured buckets. While we were setting up, the fog rolled in and obliterated the view for quite a while, and then the no-see-ums started gnawing at us. Despite all that, this was a great place to hang out for a few hours. I'm having a great time getting ready for the Project Art for Nature (PAN) show at the Phipps Center for the Arts in September. My portion of the show will concentrate on the area around Lake Pepin, one of my favorite areas to paint.

Sheyenne Valley, Oil on Linen, 9x12

We just returned from a 7 day trip to North Dakota where we celebrated a milestone class reunion, visited with friends and relatives, rode ATVs, canoed, camped and still found time to get some serious painting in. I'll post some more once I've touched them up a bit, but for now, here's a sampling.

The grain elevator you see off in the distance is the only building in the hamlet of Catherine that is visible above the trees. It's a lovely little village in a beautiful river valley. The quiet was amazing! The only sounds were the breeze in the grasses and the chirping of birds. We saw a coyote, and several different hawks while scouting.

We came across the location for this painting the day before. At the time, the hills were dotted with cows. I love cow's structure and was really hoping they would make an appearance so I could paint them. It was beginning to look like they would not show, but just as we were about to lose our light, they came over the top of the hill and I got my chance. I actually like the painting better than if they had been more in the foreground thus becoming too much the focus of the painting.

Late Afternoon Calm, Oil on Linen, 12x16

revised 7/19/11

My commitment to the Project Art for Nature (PAN) was to choose a location that I will return to once a month for the next year. For me the obvious choice of location was Lake Pepin, which is actually just a widening of the River south of the Mississippi and St. Croix River confluence. Despite the fact that this is a working river that sees huge barges on a daily basis, there is still a lot of natural beauty to capture. PAN has a show at the Phipps Center for the Arts in September. I'm hoping that by then I will have captured a bit of this beauty to pass on to others who come out to see the show.

Spring Floral, Oil on Linen, 12x16 (SOLD)

Yesterday I posted this painting. Immediately I realized I was not happy with it. Still, I shared it with the world warts and all. This morning I reworked almost the entire painting. This is the result. If you saw it yesterday, I'm hoping you will agree that it is improved. Anyway, I'm much happier with it today than I was yesterday. To me a painting is done when I can sense the place and there is a strong memory of being there, of breathing the air, listening to the sounds, feeling the sun. This painting takes me back two weeks to when I stood in this place.

End of Winter, Oil on Linen, 9x12

revised 4/3/11

Recently I was accepted into an organization called Project Art for Nature, a collaboration of artists in Wisconsin and Minnesota, working independently and collaboratively to create artwork which promotes stewardship of threatened natural areas in our region.

Tracks, Oil 9x12

The tracks seemingly go out to the middle of this field and end. Actually, whoever made them thought he/she would head across country, changed their mind and came back roughly the same way they went. I can see why- the snow was about a foot deep where I was standing. It was another beautiful sunny day with temps hovering around 30º yesterday. The snow will soon be gone.