Spring Photos

A little of this....a little of that! 

The irises have put on a stunning display this year. Wish they could last all summer.

This tiny turtle was so colorful on the underside. What a cutie! I turned him loose by the creek.

 The spring morel mushroom season was pretty good this year. We had this stray one pop out by Don's boat. It was spared the frying pan. Maybe the spores will spread for next year.

Another snake painting was completed for the Snake Man. This one is the Timber Rattler. He might want me to do a hawk this fall. That would be a nice change.

A oil painting of spring loveliness in a baby lamb. All soft and wooly amongst the pussy willows.

We lost kitty Paisley last Sunday. We had no idea he had a tumor in his tummy until he took a sudden turn for the worst. He was an FIV kitty (feline immunodeficiency virus) and was always sneezy but survived with us for seven years. Rest in peace, dear one. Your friends here will miss you.

We were thrilled to spot Stanley across the creek and he seems to be doing well. His antlers should be amazing this year.

Molly had a visitor on the patio. Not sure what they are chatting about.

Had friend Susan Yergin here with Bruce Miller to collect and process red willow bark. It is used as a tobacco for indian ceremonies and it was really interesting to join in the process.

Cool moth out on the chick waterer. Haven't been able to identify it yet. Very unique markings. Kind of like Paisley.

And finally, an old lady taking selfies! Got my official old lady short haircut, too. Keeping things simple as the days are busy. Not quite used to all the wrinkles!

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!

Stretching With Reptiles

It's not a new fitness program, but rather the process for starting on my latest painting project....for hire this one! My past few weeks of painting was a warm up to this project. The subject is the beautiful African Black Forest Cobra. Was it my choice? No, but I'm very grateful to have a project to paint something for a real live customer! This one will definitely stretch the imagination and skills.

The path to the painting
When I agree to take on a project it begins in the mind. The ideas, the researching of images, the preparation of sketches, ideas, a color scheme. It takes very little ACTUAL working time at this stage, but it consumes my mind for some days and even in my sleep as I think about how I am going to go about painting the image. It might look like.....stalling.....looking at snake pictures. Then the drawing....fiddling around ...... a few afternoons with the actual drawing, scaling and putting the pieces into perspective. Then, that magical day arrives when the inevitable cannot be put off any longer....I clean off glass palettes (more diversion).....squirt out a few colors .... and I paint!

After that initial drawing I spot colors upon the pristine white canvas. It takes the first bits of mid-tone color. I have been working with an approach of taking the boldest color of the palette and covering the canvas with it. I use a very loose mixture of pigment and light medium. It's almost transparent and my underdrawing will show through this layer which will guide the next layers.

At this point it looks silly and weird! But I do not despair, for this is only the start. This is usually when Don comes out to see what I'm doing, looks at it, and walks away! This isn't the pretty stage no matter what the subject.

The next session has me adding more definition to the subjects. Yeah, it's still weird looking, but trust me; it will all work out!

Music helps
I like to listen to our DirecTV soft jazz station while I paint. It is motivating but doesn't demand my attention. I like to drift away on the tunes, not even knowing the artists, but enjoying the flow while I paint. Three hours will pass and I won't know it until I come up for air.

Winter weather helps 
The details of each snake are now starting to develop. Another few hours to bring it into focus. I am continuing to work wet-into-wet even after several days. I use Grumbacher Medium II which is slow drying, but not THAT slow drying. The canvas and the palettes are stored in the frigid main area of our barn when I'm not working. It prevents the paint from drying as is equal to putting everything in the freezer!

The final product

Scales are painted, highlights and a general fine tuning. This will sit for a few days to dry before I put a protective spray of matte acrylic on the surface. Into a frame and it will move to its new home. Giving it a break for a few days will give me time to come back with "fresh eyes" to decide if it really is done. 

What did I learn?

It doesn't really matter what the subject is.....find the art in it. I found myself being very fascinated with snakes having spent these weeks studying their own version of beauty. Everything boils down to shapes. The shapes I represented happen to belong to a large poisonous reptile. I like them a lot from my end of the brush!

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!

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!

On the road to the tour

The journey continues in the preparation department. Setting up displays, pairing compatible colors and finding the flow.

This coming week will be all about making stuff and the next week will be getting everything in place for the opening and doing the final clean up.

I'm making leaf shaped ginger cookies during my down time!

What are you going to do?

That's what I think their little cartoon bubbles would say at this point!

This is the kind of shot I have on hand for days like this. There isn't a real descriptive photo for everything that has been going on here in preparation for the Fall Art Tour. Maybe one of the vacuum cleaner? Art being hung? Cobwebs on the ceiling?

Transforming the workshop into "art gallery" has been challenging since I wanted to have it look good (decent, not too messy) for a press interview. I was visited today by Pam Powers of the Leader-Telegram newspaper in Eau Claire to do an article about my studio and the Art Tour. Being interviewed is strange--trying to tell the story, hit the high points, don't say anything too stupid, and keep my mouth shut if there is a camera around. Pam asked some thought provoking questions that---well, I guess I'll have to read the article to see what I said because I think I was at blabber point by then. It will be in the Sunday paper the week before the tour.

She took pictures of the studio, but also some for rural flavor--chickens, geese and we even got Paisley up on Chy. The "children" who are normally full of cat and horsenality were suddenly having to be coaxed with treats to come out and have their pictures taken.

Mosaic Spheres

I made these to adorn the tops of my step on fence poles around the flower bed and found they were really fun to do. Nothing fancy, just colorful. I consider this my "crash test" phase where I determine how durable they are for outdoor use.

I have thrown away tons of glass over the years that could have made about a thousand of these!

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.

October 2, 3, 4, 2009

Only 4 months away! I just found out our brochures are ready and soon the link will change from the Spring show to the Fall. 

I have been spending more time preparing the grounds than art and that needs to change pretty soon. Hope we have a late fall so the blooms will still be going!

Sneak Peek

I am in the middle of a great project! I have wanted to do equine art for a long time and never took the time to delve in. I did a little horse-trading over a saddle and found I could also trade some of my work for my purchase. 

My subjects are two of the cutest little equestriennes and their trusty mounts in various stages of barrel racing and pole weaving.  I have a number of pieces I'm working on, and this will be the only sneak peek until they are all done. 

So, Amy, you'll just have to WAIT a little while longer! 

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!