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.