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.

The River, Oil on Linen, 12x16

The last couple of paintings were painted incredibly fast as the light conditions had changed before I even had a chance to set up. I had to mix up piles of color and just put color notes around the canvases. What happens is that you will second guess yourself once the light has changed. When the clouds move in, you see tons of detail in the shadows you never saw when the scene was brightly lit and you can hardly believe that the brilliant colors you have on your palette were actually there a few minutes ago. When this happens it's time to trust your instincts more than your eyes.

Valley Below, 12x16, Oil on Linen (SOLD)

After a summer of battling with those tricky greens that abound here in southern Minnesota, it feels good to dip into the cadmiums of autumn. I was struck by the contrast between the cool minty green and the warm yellows and oranges of this location.

Loring Alleyway, Oil on Linen, 16x12
By Tom McGregor

Purple Bells, Bee Balm and Daisies, Oil on Linen 16x12
By Jerri Jo Brandt

Saint Paul Art Crawl this Weekend, October 7-9

Fri. 6-10pm, Sat. 12-8pm, Sun. 12-5pm
See Jerri Jo and me at our studio in the Northwestern Building.
275 East 4th Street, Suite 705, Saint Paul

Disney's Lift Bridge, Oil on Linen, 9x12 (SOLD)

There's tons of detail here that I could have gotten bogged down with. Instead, I decided to paint fast, thick and loose and not worry about the anatomy of all those boats. From a distance, I see boats but up close it's totally chaotic.

Bill's Roses, 16x12, Oil on Linen

You may recognize this house. It is my neighbor Bill's. This is the fourth time I've painted it. I love the way the late afternoon sun lights up the west wall and the roses leaving pretty much everything else in shadow. This is by far the simplest I've painted the subject. It has taken me a long time to learn what to leave out.

Sunnies Are Just Fine, Oil on Linen, 18x24

revised 7/29/11, 9/23/11

Today is the first day of summer. Spring was noteworthy for flooding, snow, rain and a lot of grey days. The day I painted the 12x16 field painting this studio painting was based on was one of the few exceptions. The field painting was painted 2 weeks ago on the only day we went swimming so far this year. I guess this painting is my attempt to capture and hold a piece of summer we have seen far too little of this year. Rats, it just started raining again.

Frozen Falls at the Old Mill, Oil on Linen, 16x12

Painting number 3 from this past weekend was done down in Hastings. It was in the mid 50s and the light was soft and diffused most of the afternoon. I thought I would get down to the ruins for a second painting but this one kept me busy until sunset.

Ice Break, Oil on linen, 12x16

It was up in the 40s this weekend and sunny making for a 3 painting weekend. Around three o'clock on Saturday the sun popped out so I finished up a studio "memory" painting I was working on and had Jerri Jo drop me off on the Robert Street Bridge just as the colors were beginning to peak. It felt good to work fast. I covered the canvas in a little over an hour. Sometimes it just feels right.

I can't tell you how many times I've commuted over the Robert Street Bridge and wanted to paint this painting. By shear luck the light was absolutely perfect when I finally did. I was more than willing to put up with some pretty inane questions by passersby.

Updated 2/2/11 (SOLD)

Working Late, Oil on Linen, 18x24

Oh the barges, the mighty barges. The season is short. The hours are long. It is a sight to behold these behemoths that navigate the mighty Mississippi. They slide through the arch of the Robert Street Bridge like thread through the eye of a needle.

Out of Commission, Oil on Linen, 24x18 (SOLD)

I hope this isn't the last hurrah of fall, but with this week's wind blowing the leaves half way to the Gulf of Mexico, it just might be.

Moon over the Marina, 10x20, Oil (SOLD)

Old Blue Bonnet, 12x16, Oil

We went to the docks the other day in hopes of finding some cool old boats to paint. When we got there we were sadly disappointed in the selection of boats but fell in love with this old grader. I don't know how many years it's been since it saw any action but we noticed that it had been repaired many times with jury-rigged parts including the blue tarp that was unceremoniously duct-taped to the roof, I suppose, to keep out the rain.

Rain, 12x9, Oil

It's supposed to rain this weekend so I'm putting together quite a pile of mostly finished paintings from this Spring that need a touch here and there. When I came across this one from a month ago I couldn't think of anything to do to it but post it. I prefer to finish paintings in one sitting. Rarely does that happen. I was quite sure this one needed work when I put it away a month ago. I don't know what I thought it needed. This is definitely the day I remember.

High Water, Oil, 16x12

We painted these boathouses on a day when the Mississippi was flooding it's banks. But how would you know by our subject matter? The boathouses float on pontoons and and are attached to their moorings with oversized sleeves that allow them to rise and fall with the river. So unless you are a local, you would not know that normally you look down on the roofs from where we were standing. It's ironic that on a day when water was everywhere it should not be, we chose a subject that was barely affected by the flood.

Another Vento Morning, Oil, 12x16

The lessons are starting to take. Thanks Joe and Richard.

Our Grotto, Oil, 9x12

I love a sunny day any time of the year.

Fall Birch and Oak, Oil, 12x9

It's been a beautiful week in November with sunshine and temps in the mid fifties. It almost makes up for the grey cold October we just had. I paint outside as much as I can when it's like this. As a result this blog may seem kind of neglected as I am saving the studio fine-tuning for bad weather days.

This was painted en plen air in about an hour and a half. I could touch it up and improve the anatomy of the trees but why? It feels like the day.

Harriet Island Docks, oil, 12x16 (sold)

Posted a bit out of sequence, I painted this about a month ago. I sold it yesterday at the St Paul Art Crawl. Thanks Steve and Sue. Enjoy!

Westside Pride, Oil, 11x14