Pile 'O Shoes, Revisited GIFTED

Yes, I am bored (ongoing raging blizzard here in Fargo, then). I dug out some old workshop paintings.. this one is on my blog (October).. I played around with the background and used some gouache to bring out details.. it is all about details.. don't ya' know!!!

Really like it better!!

Gifted to friend Rosie..

"OMG" GIFTED

As i was snooping on my grandson's Facebook page, I saw a photo that i felt would make a great portrait painting... "Jonathan staring down his cell phone.. ".. i added the Micky Mouse to help with the image of youth: technical/cybering/iphoning/texting generation.. Not sure about a background.. hate to "mess it up"
I NEED TO HAVE A GREAT TITLE FOR THIS --HELP....
Grandson got married.. gave it to h im as a gift.

Sketch for Emma's painting...

As i look at other artist's blogs, i note they include their prep work along with the finished work.. I love this sketch i did of Emma b/4 i tackled the acrylic painting..

Emma's fish is "golden" GIFTED

Not sure what to give the grandkids for Christmas, so i thought i'd paint "Emma" to hang in her bedroom at the coast.. using bright colors of Acrylic on a gallery canvas.. it was not easy but i think i captured her spirit, since she is a very special girl with beautiful hair ::-))...

"Date Bait, in the 50's"

I sketched this the other day.. surely enjoy drawing old cars.. couldn't resist the arm out the window, cigarettes in the shirt sleeve, cigarette smoke and the dice hanging from the mirror.. the gal behind the door, doesn't know what a treat she is "in for".... VVRUMM!!

"up the River" DONATED

I see why they say we get "dumped on" with snow.. got several inches again yesterday and today.. anyway, I get kinda in the "dumps" when it snows every day..so, I painted this yesterday, with the Annual " A Women's Perspective" show in mind. Theme is "The Element, earth, air, fire, water.." (not snow). I love the bottom part the best.. it moves the eye thro but the top part is rather serene and (boring)....... oh well, maybe i should bake or something since Christmas is near.......

Donated to HERO project

Blue Heron GIFTED

I just painted this for our son, Matt and his wife, Pam, for their Beach Condo.. It will be their Christmas present..It is Acrylic on a "wrap around" canvas 15" x 30".. The back ground represents the view from their balcony, if i remember right.... It is quite blue, but it kinda looks like night time on the bay.

(I know it isn't Christmas yet, but they know about it, so no surpises for them this year)

Owie @ the Ocean GIFTED

Well, i finally accomplished the acrylic painting from my sketch of grandson, Owen.. Painting sand is BORING.. The water, jacket and, of course, Owen's cute feet were my fav parts.. it is difficult to go from Watercolor to Acrylic in the same time frame of my life. :-)) What?

And Then There Was Gracie!!

Gracie was put here on this earth to sleep!! and sit on top of the fridge!!

Handsome Sam

Sam posed for me but was also watching "The Truman Show"

Owen @ the Ocean

I am attempting to paint this image in Acrylic and am having a tough time, for some reason...

daisies and granet coffee pots

i have the pots but the daisies have passed away.

Sketches o' Mine

Gee, it has been awhile since I have posted anything...

I have been doing a lot of sketching lately, mostly due to the "meetings" of the group of artists from Jan Flom's workshop this summer. We all decided to do art daily, sketching seems to fit that schedule of creative endeavors.. (geez, where did that sentence come from??)

I'll post a couple of them. Grandson, Sam, posed for me yesterday.. he was GOOD.. plus being so darn good looking... also have a great sketch of grandson, Owen, taken from a photo i took of him last month, when we were visiting in Oregon..

Pile 'o Shoes

Another project from Park Rapids Art Camp weekend. Same idea as "walkin the dog" painting.. I sketched this pile of shoes then broke up the areas with lines.. warm and cool colors.. it was also fun to do.
Kinda looks like the floor of my closet.........
I revisited this painting with a dark blue background and some details added
GIFT to an old friend..

Frank & friends

I thought it would be fun to add this painting i did probably 40 years ago, in oil. I used photos from my parents 25th anniversary party which was held in their garage. Left to right: Neighbor, who didn't get the "dress up" memo, Uncle, Brother, Cousin and Neighbor. That was a great party...

I used collage b/4 I knew about collage. the glass of beer on the table (faded over the years) and the sheet music. This master piece has hung in our garage for a long time and i always enjoy looking at it.......

The Kartes Farm (commission )

This is a repeat performance.. I painted it several years ago, as a commission for Carl's sister.... but they have 2 sons and each wanted one. Luckily i had saved the sketch from the first one i painted..

Me and my friend, La Ditzy-I'm the one of the left..

Well, i just got home from the Elim Nursing Home Family Art Show Fall Festival Event. It was fun to be hanging out with 9 of my most cherished painting friends.. Sales were down as most folks were interested in the free eats and Elvis Presley.. yes, he was there in all his flesh.. I did sell a painting and a couple of cards.

A couple of Langdon folks have dropped in this week for Langdon Series cards. Always good to share my Langdon images..

"Exercise Bike??" SOLD

Aptly named, as it was a painting "exercise" at Judi Bett's workshop.

SOLD @ Cormorant Show

Come and Sit #2 SOLD

This is from the Judi Betts workshop.. had it framed, hanging, etc, and I dropped it today and the glass broke, flew everywhere.. ANYWAY, i took the opportunity to photograph it.. Love those old chairs -- have painted them b/4.. SOLD

"In the Shade" SOLD

I found a useable small matt in my junk pile... i liked this part of a larger painting and just cut (painful) it out and matted it.. May do more of this..

Tomorrow a group of us are exhibiting at Elim family day.. under a big tent.. should be fun.. i made up some greeting cards, note cards and am taking all my 11" x 14" paintings. Will comment tomorrow on the success.....
Sold @ my reception

Waiting for the Rest of the Band SOLD

I started this painting in Janet Flom's workshop.. attempting to be loose, i didn't do any sketching.. just went at it with the paints. I finished it the other day and enjoy it as the photo i used was taken when we were in New Orleans for our 25th anniversary.. 24 years ago.. can that be right????

April, 2012, I revisited this painting , added the bike and some more color, framed it for my One Oak Show.

"Mother Said We Can't Swim For Another Hour" SOLD

Milt, who paints with us on Thursdays @ the Hjemkomst, gave me an old B&W photo of 6 kiddies sitting on the bumper of an old car. A wonderful photo.. I painted my interpretation of it with watercolor on w/c paper that had gesso on it.. I remember the old adage about not being able to swim for an hour after we ate.. maybe it is true but the wait was awful.
Sold while on exhibit @ Uncorked

"Just a Barn"

I happened to have some watercolor paper that i had added gesso to, so i attempted to paint on it using watercolor ....

When in doubt, paint a barn, i always say!! it was fun to move the paint around, lift it, reapply, wipe out, reapply, etc.

This Painting has been erased and changed to "Tulips in a Ball Jar V" ! ! !

"Empty Home" GIFTED

I painted this in Janet Flom's workshop.. on Yupo paper.. had never used it before and what fun to see the paint "take over" and almost paint itself.. the paint can easily be removed with water, so if i sneeze on this, it will be a completely different painting......... Gift

"Playing Pinochle with the Big Boys" SOLD

I took a quick photo of this fellow playing cards (when we went out for a drink on Carl's birthday). He was so much smaller than his partners, it was comical. I attempted to be painterly and have interesting shapes in the painting (it didn't work, as it looks like most of my other paintings, but that is OK !???)..

The "fish fry" lettering gives it the feeling of an AMVETS club.

sold @ Edgewood 5-14

Boats! GIFTED

An exercise from the workshop.. attempt at a painterly, juicy, atmospheric painting.. Gift for the Beach House

Concept

Really did enjoy the 3-day workshop with Janet Flom as our leader-instructor. Hope to be more "painterly", original and balanced in my future work. Maybe even limit my "humor" to my work, rather than my mouth.. (private joke) Thanks, Jan, for sharing your expertise with us.

Yellow Pekin Iris

I snapped a couple of photos of Gene's iris patch when I was in Pekin in June.. they are SO beautiful. I started this at the Thursday Art Group gathering.. fun to work in my sketch book.

Friend Bobbie is coming tomorrow and we are going to partake of the Janet Flom workshop. more later!!!

Church Show

I am exhibiting 21 of my paintings at Atonement Lutheran Church in South Fargo. This is where i go to walk with some friends 3x a week, during winter months. There are some really great people there, and i hope they enjoy viewing my stuff!!

The Upside of Tulips

I painted this from a photo of Carl's tulips this spring. i took the photo looking down on them. But is was hard to make out the stems.. I scanned it into my computer so it is a little weird looking.

Used Ottos !!!!!!!! SOLD

I sure am having a good time with the car photos Margaret Kelley gave me!!!

This is done with Acrylics and i tried to save some of the underpainting colors. Not sure about those crazy "buildings", as they just appeared. May have to work on them abit..

April, 2011, added the purple building and more colors to this work.. Acrylics are so versatile and fun..
 SOLD @ Pekin art show 2012

Little Red Car GIFTED

Painted this little work in my sketch book last Thursday at the Hjemkomst painting group thingy.. Using some wonderful photos that a friend gave me. Thank goodness she didn't throw them away.. now I've got lots of old car images to paint from without going to the junk yard myself..

Son, Matt, said he liked this.. so it is his now.. Gift

another exhibit

I just returned from driving to Pekin ND.. i was designated driver for 12 Fargo artists to deliver their work for this popular juried show. It will be held June 23-27th. Pekin is a town of about 80 people and has 3 exits (2 alleys, 1 main street). Their show has become very important over the last 10 years.
I also have 7 paintings hanging at the Sweet Dreams Confectionery shop in Fargo, for the month of June.. they are mostly from Judi Betts workshop.

Three's a Crowd GIFTED

I just painted my centerpiece on the dining room table.. Pears are the "extreme subject" to paint.. great shape and color... probably why there are a billion pear paintings out there.. but these are mine. Background is more purple but photographing acrylic paintings is tricky. Gift to the condo @ the beach.

Flat & Broke SOLD

I found this sketch i did 20 years ago.. not sure where the idea came from. I love looking at Ron Morrison's paintings of old cars,etc. on his web site... I used the wet-on-wet technique on the car on the right but went back to "my" style on the green car.
SOLD @ Uncorked...  '12

Berry Pickers SOLD

I was anxious to use the technique i did in the workshop w the background circles, etc.. i drew this image from an old farm magazine I had from the 70's. I'm pretty sure this Amish couple had milk in their pails in the photo, but I loved the way she was "helping him out of the bush" so i put blueberries in the pails........

it was fun to paint.

Awarded 2nd place in Watercolor at Pekin Art Show 2010. It also SOLD in Pekin...

Lucyville SOLD

Another painting 'saved' from Lucy's garbage pile.. She said she started it in a workshop in the 80's after a trip to Germany.. I had a great time reconstructing the buildings and adding a lot of color.. what fun!!!  2nd photo of revisited and cropped painting.

"Spring in a Pot" DONATED

This is another painting from the workshop.. we cut out hunks (shapes) of frisk film, i think that is what it was called, and placed them around to make an interesting back ground. Painted over the film, then removed it to form "interest"-- Several class members brought flowers for us to paint.. fun!

April, 2011, i messed around with this painting with some watercolor pencils= lines and squiggles.

Donated to Hjemkomst Center Auction

The Yellow House SOLD

Another painting from the workshop.. Underpainting done with primary colors.. interesting to use warm colors in the shadows... loved it.

Cropped, framed and SOLD

my kind of exercises

These are 4 of the fun exercises we did at the workshop.. classy backgrounds added. warm, cool and grey dominance noted on the chair, bike and house!! Primary colors in background on the car painting..

Workshop with Judi Betts

Just finished day #2 of a 5-day workshop with instructor, Judi Betts from Baton Rouge, LA .. We are having a wonderful time. She is delightful and her slide presentation/gallery talk at the National Watermedia Show tonight was very enjoyable.
If any of my followers are from or near the Fargo/Moorhead area, you must stop in at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead and see the National show.. It is fantastic... Judi Betts was the juror.
I will post some of my work from the class later.. if it looks as good when i bring it home, as it does there.. :--))

Hawley Minn Art Show

I took 3 paintings to Hawley, MN, today for their great show. It is next weekend.
I will be attending Judi Betts' watercolor workshop all week.. I am excited to just paint, eat and talk art/smart for 5 days...... wheee!!

"On Deck" SOLD

I painted this from a photo of a friend's deck. When I finished, I realized the water was aqua like the tropics.. I almost put a palm tree in rather than a birch.. but Minnesota is closer to home. Then I "whitened" the water.... I've painted that yellow chair a number of times.. This is in Acrylic.

Sold this one and it will live in California!!!!

"Plein Air" Extraordinaire

During a workshop about 15 years ago, i took this photo of a young gal in our class... (Young, because she could sit like that for hours and still get up and walk). I loved the way the shadow ran thro the photo. She was sitting in the grass but i don't like to paint acres of grass-- the blanket looked like it was flying, hence, the cloud idea.

4-22-11 repainted.. added dark sky.. made a big improvement on this work..... and i changed the title..........

Very Important Pianist SOLD

This lady plays the piano, entertaining the lunch crowd, 2x a week at the VIP Room. I took a photo with my cell (not my best ability) and used it as a reference. Those are my paintings on the wall, of course.

Carla passed away right after i painted this. It was sold to the VIP restaurant as a memorial

Swan Song GIFTED

I painted this today. Turned out better than I thought it would. I usually don't "do" pretty pictures but this would qualify. I struggled with the pinks .. they just got darker and darker as i worked at them..

Gifted to dear friend Ag......

Hung 'em all up at the VIP

I just took 44 paintings to the VIP Room, downtown Fargo.. they will be on display there for 3 months.. SO if you are planning to have lunch in Fargo, may I suggest going there, then.

"Cupcakes for 4" wedding gift

I know, I know, I am getting a little cutesy with my painting subjects.. but i did enjoy painting with acrylics again. Since i do love food and need a few new ones for my show, this happened.....

"Bowls Over" GIFT

I used acrylics to paint this still life of the great Ice Cream bowls i had purchased at an "used stuff" store.

I need to 'up' my inventory for my exhibition at the VIP restaurant..

Gift to the Oregon beach house.

"How Much is that Glass Thing in the Window??"

There is a glass blowing studio next to our son's condo in Lincoln City, OR. I was fascinated with this glass sculpture in their shop. I added the shocked shoppers to this acrylic painting, for humor and for the "heck of it"

Der Gasthof! SOLD

This is a part of a larger painting i did a long time ago, in a workshop. I cut it down (threw away the Alps and a beautiful pine tree) to fit a nice mat and frame I had. I need a large inventory for my solo show at the VIP restaurant for 3 months.. April, May and June.

SOLD 1-3-11

Non-political Tea Party SOLD

I used a photo taken probably 75 years ago by Carl's Mom of his sisters and their pet lamb, as an reference for this fun watercolor. The photo had appeared in the Minneapolis Journal in Aug of 1930.

I had painted it about 15 years ago but i was in my "payne's grey" period and it lacked color........

Sold!!!

"Demo Done"

I finished the demo i did for the Red River Watercolor Soc meeting on Tuesday. Difficult to paint, talk, show and breath at the same time.

"He's not heavy, he's my Cat" GIFTED

I took this photo of Sam on New Years Day. Couldn't resist painting it. Yes, George is that huge and Sam is that handsome.

Bring in the Wash! SOLD

Painted this little ditty @ the Thursday painting group. May enter it in the "Water" show.

Also: "I've brought in a lot of wash in my day!!!"

March 28th.. this painting was featured in the Fargo Forum today advertising the Water Show @ Nicole's Pastry Shop.... Sold it!!!