In Storage.....

I haven't been painting for a couple of years.  I am finding old ones that I can share that I have forgotten about until I run into them in the store room.  This is an oil pastel that I did on the shoreline of Lake Superior.  My wife and I sat out on the rocks and the seagulls would land around us and take naps.   Oil pastel is good for some things but doing detail seagulls is not a good medium to use.  I remember that I use to get out oil paint white and black and paint my birds in on the oil pastel painting.

This painting was specifically at the Gooseberry Falls park along the north shore and it is not visited as much as they falls are the main attraction.   If you follow the river down to the lake shore this is the area you would see, a large rock formation with cliffs that tower over the water.

Three Year Anniversary..........

There wasn't a big fanfare that took place when we finished it. There were sighs of relief from the artists. It was put up and then slowly through the years we have been given feedback on the six foot square mural from various people in the community.  It has been three years since July that we completed it.  It was a big challenge to paint but my wife  and I did accomplished it.  I do remember that we had a few false starts before we finally settled on the style of the trolley.  The painting is at the train station, inside,  here in Woodward.  Many different styles of trollies were use to pick up and deliver people and farm products.  It started out from the downtown Des Moines area and had two routes a day to Woodward.

I did notice that one of the trollies in all the old phots had a bell on top of it and at one time we were planning to do one.  I guess it missed the final sessions of being included during our detailing period.

My Version............

Having viewed many different paintings done by impressionists I believe this one came from my imagination and memory.  I changed so many things as the birch trees are not European and the boats are make believe.  I created this painting in pastel many years ago.  It got ousted from its aging frame and mat so I could use the glass from it for a frame job.

Silver Bay, Minnesota

This is a pastel painting that I did while sitting on the shore of Lake Superior.  The rocky shoreline is beautiful with its weathered rock and blue waters.  Canada Geese dot the entire North Shore area and can be found feeding close to the shore as the food that it eats comes from shallow water. Loons and sea gulls are also seen along the water.

Silver Bay is a mining town as they process and ship iron ore from that area along Lake Superior.  The ore is manufactured into small pellets, smaller than marbles and shipped out over seas in large shipping vessels.

My wife and I use to travel the North Shore every summer.  We would spend a week or so travelling the edge of Minnesota along the lake finding spots for drawing and painting.  We would sit for many hours at a time from Duluth to the Indian reservation area of Grand Portage.  Sometimes I painted in acrylic or watercolor.  My favorite is actually the pastel medium as I feel it is more of a drawing medium even though it is called painting. We both have many paintings from the years that we travel starting in 1989 until 2001.  We have not returned since 2001.

Sold a couple paintings.......

This is a poor photo of a Minnesota shoreline that I painted a few years ago.  It was painted on site and refined in the studio. It really was one of my favorites of the North Shore.  We sat along the Cascade Falls area south of Grand Marais, Minnesota.  I am glad it has a new home in California.










My side jobs really have kept me from being an artists.  I do miss it but time is doled out at 24 hours a day.  We are not doing any shows this year so I don't have the nagging guilt that I need to get some things painted for a show.

The other painting that left my studio is the barn and silo one.  I painted it a couple of years ago and really liked it.  My early blogging shows this painting in progress and shows the major changes I made as I developed it into a final work.

The one who purchased it was reminded of his Uncle who use to build silos in the Grimes, Iowa area.  He was from the farming community but has lived most of is life in California.  He reminds me of my brother who misses Iowa a lot but would never leave California.  When he visits  Iowa and soaks in everything that reminds him of his childhood.






Perhaps I can get myself back to painting this fall.  I will be back substitute teaching but I can maybe get painting worked into my schedule.

Good bye to my two paintings and good luck in your new places of residence.

New Paint.....

I finally have stocked up on some fresh acrylic paints.  I need to buy some more specific colors but for now I have something to work with. It is time that I get back into the studio and start painting.

Gallery Wall.....

I spent an afternoon rearranging and rehanging artwork in our gallery.  I need more space to hang things.  It has to be reworked about every year as it is like modern design of shapes on the wall and the sizes have to be fit together to have the most space used.

It makes for a cozy corner once I get everything hung.  My wife Della and I have our work hung together.  She paints full time so the majority of work on this wall belong to here.  I see a couple of barns of mine on the wall the the larger tulip painting is mine.

I have goals set to start painting this winter as the outside work won't be interfering with the inside work with snow on the ground.  I have some panels that are gessoed and sanded that are ready to go for me to start painting.

Minnesota drawing.......

I have these scenes imprinted in my mind and draw them freely.  This may be a little bit contrived but it was a quick charcoal sketch to remind myself that I am an artist part of the time during my busy life.