Promise of Spring

One of my new paintings is titled "Promise of Spring". It will be on exhibit at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Library in Eau Claire this summer. Their exhibit is titled "Eggsactly" and artists were invited to create art to the theme. I was hoping to do another stained glass wall relief, like Equus, or Bees, but I couldn't find the materials I was looking for to do my idea, so that one will have to wait for another time.

April's Awakening 

April's Awakening is also an oil. As the colors of spring started popping I worked on capturing those few days before the colorful buds turn green.

Chippewa Backwaters

No....this one isn't Catfish Corner. It's just down the road and is a lengthy serpentine flowage of twists and turns of the Chippewa backwaters that eventually meets the Mississippi.

Wings Over Alma Exhibit - Wind and Water

The new exhibit at Wings was installed and our reception was held on Friday. The wind and water theme was perfect for getting out two paintings that haven't been exhibited which I did in 2011.

Moonlight Swim - 2011

Just Swimmingly 2011

Mysterious Wings - 2015

Wild Glory - 2015

It's interesting to see the evolution of my style over the past four years. It was a good winter for painting and I have several more, all of which will be added to the Fine Arts America page.

Spring Work Marathon

It was all fun and games until the weather turned warmer and the seemingly unending list of spring chores presented themselves. The barn, the gardens, brush cutting, all things that need doing before Mother Nature takes over with weeds and pests. I'm quite surprised my body has held up for the amount of physical labor I've put it through the past few weeks. It feels good to get a handle on sprucing up the place and it results in some very solid night's sleep!

It's That Time Again!

The Tour is a little over a month away and I have been SO BUSY! Haven't even had time to update the blog so I have lots of catching up to do. The link for Fresh Art is so beautiful. I don't know who did all the work, but credit is due! Each site has a little profile and photos--check it out!

I am going to, for the first time, have giclee prints of some of my work, thanks to my artist friend, Gail Pommerening. The link will take you to Gail's website. She has an archival giclee printer and is scanning and printing for me. All this while getting ready to be on the Tour, too!

Trail Ride and Art Show
We are both self-taught artists and are serving together on the Wings Over Alma art committee. And speaking of WOA, the current show is called Horse and Harvest. The artists' reception is going to be very different this time--it is also a trail ride! Saturday, Sept. 10th at 1 p.m., riders are invited to meet at Robin Secrist's ranch and we are going to ride over the hill to Alma in cattle drive fashion! But without the cows.

We will arrive at the reception which runs from 2-4 pm, tie up the horses, and will feast on cowboy themed sweet and savory treats while we enjoy the art display. Then we will ride back over the hill and have a potluck at Robin's at 5 pm. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? The best part is, you don't have to have a horse to participate.

Sky Blue Pink at Catfish Corner

One of my favorite scenes at Catfish Corner is the sky blue pink morning sky. I completed this pastel last week and would like to share it on this frosty -20 degree morning!

The blue hill in the right portion of the background is Minnesota across the Mississippi River. This morning the steam is rising as the chill settles against the warmer water.

This weekend is also the Wings Over Alma  - Eagles on Ice event, a book signing, music, chili feed, and artists' reception for the Paws and Purrs exhibit. Hope it warms up a little!

WOA Signs of Spring

I got a picture, finally, of my entry in the Signs of Spring show at Wings Over Alma. The opening reception was held Friday evening.

"Soft Maples Bloom at Catfish Corner" is a pastel which I completed just before the show and depicts the fleeting red blossoms that appear on the soft maples just before the leaves pop out. It was a dark sky evening just as the sun was setting and making the clouds look even darker. The tree reflections were eerie and seemed to bleed into a dark prussian blue/black haze. It's at that certain time of spring where the colors can almost look like fall. Of all the versions of Catfish Corner that I have done, this has been one of the most dramatic. That's what I love about my backyard muse. It is always changing, always a different color and mood.

Even though it is only a few weeks later, it's time to do another version that will be quite different than this one.

On a different take on the theme of Signs of Spring, I chose to depict two other distinctive signs. Namely, the mosquito and wood tick!

Signs of Spring

I helped hang the next exhibit at Wings Over Alma on Wednesday. The Signs of Spring exhibit is a "members" show and there are a lot of artist members  in WOA.

Silly me -- I didn't get my camera out to the studio before I took my pieces to the show--so I'll have to get some shots at the reception next Friday.

Winter On The River

This will be my entry for the Wings Over Alma winter exhibit that will be opening in a couple weeks. It is, of course, another view of Catfish Corner. My most patient and beautiful muse. I just got it done and framed yesterday so I have a few days to enjoy it before it will be gone for three months. Time to start working on something for the spring exhibit!

Quick Draw

I have an event coming up on Sunday that I am participating in. It's at the Wings Over Alma and it's an artists "Quick Draw" which give us each three hours to start and finish a work of art. The finished pieces (dry or not!) are then put on silent auction at the spaghetti dinner later that evening. The fund raiser has been done for a couple years now, but this is the first time I am involved in it.

I figured that I can do anything after last weekends event!

The best part of all is that our friend, Sandy Madsen, is coming from Luck on Sunday and will have dinner with us and stay over in the lavish Catfish Corner Guest Suite! (Now complete with that new rustic denim and bandana rag quilt!)

Midwest Landscapes Exhibit

After a full morning of blueberry picking on Friday I got my gears shifted to spend a couple hours at the Wings Over Alma artists reception. It was a small event as there were many other activities going on for people to attend that day. The postcard doesn't do justice to the photography. Dennis Newton's shots of Lake Pepin and the area were awesome. He does the large format printing himself and I was interested in that process. I got a chance to get to know Chelsea Golden better. She had some photography displayed, too, and she is a real sweetie! So talented--as is her husband Ben, who has been exhibited often at WOA. Jean Accola and her husband, Yata, had some beautiful oils and photography on display, too. I have admired her work for years -- they have a gallery in Durand. My offerings are pictured -- two views of Catfish Corner and one of the Beef Slough.

Eagles Exhibit

I've been shy on posts while I have been preparing to participate in an art exhibit at the "Wings Over Alma" in Alma, WI. They are having a winter show of eagle related art and I was invited to display some pieces. I am choosing to show stained glass which involved a big repair on a piece (pictured) that was damaged the last time it was on exhibit (frown) and creating a couple new bevel glass eagles. Thankfully the install date has been changed from today (too cold) to next Tuesday.

It's been a kick in the seat to get myself organized to do this exhibit. The studio was in a mess from the last project so my first job was to start a big dig. (I know I have enough glass to last 17 lifetimes.) Much of the glass and stuff I brought with me from Luck five years ago has been virtually untouched. So a purge has begun and I have piles of stuff that I posted on Freecycle, recycled the old computer components and other paper recyclables, made a pile for ebay. This is fun! I have almost filled our dumpster and I have more to do, but I needed to get going on the glass projects for the exhibit. 

The past few days of soldering have left me stiff and achy (just like the old days!) but feeling motivated and purposeful. Cerra likes peeking in the studio window and watching "Hay! What's for dinner?" It's just like Mr. Ed!