Richard Abraham's Brush Mileage

Along Highway 29

2011-01-05T18:41:00.002-06:00

18x36 Oil

This is a studio painting I started a couple months ago thinking it would hang in one of 2 shows I had opening in December. I got to a certain point on it and I got stuck, which happens. It's not a matter of how to finish it, but the best way to finish it. So it leaned facing the wall of my studio for a few weeks. Then driving back from Michigan to St. Paul I hit a stretch along Highway 29 west of Wausau when the light and scenery was very similar to this painting. I didn't have a camera with me (I know!) so I just kept making mental notes on the color of everything and completed it in a few hours a couple of days ago. It's freeing to work from your memory and painting so much from life over the last 12 years has given me the foundation for it.

Menominee River

2011-01-03T14:11:00.002-06:00

11x14 Oil

I did this painting a couple of days after Christmas while I was still visiting my family in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This is the Menominee River which is the border between Michigan (on the right) and Wisconsin (on the left). It was a relatively warm thirty degrees with very little wind so I was able to spend a lot of time on location tweaking all the various shapes locking into one another. A bald eagle was soaring over the river for a while, I did see some tracks that looked canine and a little too big to be coyote, a wolf?

Laguna Plein Air Event

2010-10-21T18:32:00.002-05:00

Heisler Park at Sundown 9x12 Oil

Just returned from Laguna Beach, having participated in the 12th Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational. It was amazing, great to paint with that kind of intensity for a week, and be surrounded by 49 other outstanding painters from around the country. Waiting to get the other paintings shipped back to me, I'll post them next week.

Grand Marais Plein Air

2010-09-09T12:50:00.004-05:00

Coast Bones Oil 11x14

Daybreak North Shore Oil 9x12

Birches Oil 9x12

Well summer is seems to be in its final days and I spent a few days last week up in Grand Marais Minnesota, doing a little painting along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The weather was beautiful and the painting went well, I was very relaxed and things just seemed to flow, you can never take that for granted. "Daybreak" won first place, which is always a nice affirmation, and while I was happy with all three paintings, I think my personal favorite is Coast Bones, it was a very complex composition, and I really like the way the debris filled path turned out. Wish I could have painted more but that's life. Starting to teach my Fall classes next week, back to work.

Rust Alley

2010-08-12T20:04:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

A recently displayed some work during the Tangletown Garden Tour, since I had to hang out and babysit my paintings I decided to set the easel and go to it. The fish on the right is a mosaic sculpture that really caught my eye, so I framed it up against the house to make it pop, it adds a sense of strangeness to an otherwise restful scene. one of my favorite little geeky things I liked about this painting is the sharp pattern of reflected glare on the yellow house on the left, it was only there briefly, but catching details like that are the little things that elevate a painting.

Bluff Cave

2010-08-05T23:30:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

This is yet another painting mined out of Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, it's right in St. Paul just a few blocks from my studio and is a subject I return to often. Instead of the temptation to paint the grassy field behind me I decided to try the challenge of rocky bluff wall at the edge of the park. The light effect was fleeting and I was constantly balancing the values on the rock, keeping it dark enough to read as shadow while having it illuminated by the reflected light.

Old Summit Alley

2010-07-14T11:48:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

Getting a little tired of paintings that are 90% green, so as I enter the dog days of summer I'm doing more work in the city. This is a great alley off of Summit Ave. in St. Paul they have these old buckled red pavers, love the textures.

Summer Reflections

2010-07-05T12:14:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

After a June filled with rain, I've had a few sunny days to paint, this is a little pond that's about 4 minutes from my loft in St. Paul, if you could pan to the left you would see the skyline of the city. I like this painting, it feels hazy and warm it also has a soft lush quality that isn't always there even when the color and drawing is correct. Happy 4th of July weekend.

2010-06-16T16:09:00.004-05:00

Gray Sky Saturday

9x12 Oil

The weather in the Twin Cities has gray and wet for over a week now, it's a bit of a downer. We have such a small window of good warm weather and its been raining for half of June. I do however like the rich lush colors you get on a gray wet day. Fingers crossed for sun.

2010-06-16T00:29:00.003-05:00

Cottonwood Shadow 10x14 Oil

Painted this a couple of weeks ago at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, I liked the intense greens in the foreground, nice morning spent.

In Plain Sight

2010-05-13T15:00:00.003-05:00

24 x 48 Oil "A Farm in Spring" detail

This is a detail of a painting I created for the "In Plain Sight" show at the Bloomington Art Center, it features paintings myself, Scott Llyod Anderson, and Neil Sherman, and sculptures by Brian Young. The opening is tomorrow evening 6-8pm for more in info go to:
www.bloomingtonartcenter.com
The show is up until July 9th and there is an Artist Talk on June 17th.

I did this studio painting from a small plein air piece I had from 3 years ago, it just always seem that it would work bigger, and I think it does.

Limestone Steps

2010-04-30T09:45:00.001-05:00

8x10 Oil

Painted this last Saturday after class, I loved the light on these steps and had to give it a try.

Old Twisited Tree

2010-04-20T13:11:00.004-05:00

10x10 Oil

Yesterday was the perfect day to paint, sunny warm, no wind, so although I have a ton of studio work to finish up I had to get outside and paint something. I was really happy with the feel of the twisting and torquing of the trunks, it's one of those amazing old trees that is somehow still budding out new leaves.

This Friday the 23rd is the opening of the Spring Art Crawl for 2010. Please come visit me at my studio in the Northern Warehouse, Saint Paul Minnesota.

richard@richardabraham.com

Spring Grasses

2010-04-16T15:46:00.002-05:00

8x10 Oil

This is small painting I did Easter Sunday, it was sunny in the morning but I didn't make it out until later in the day and completely overcast. So rather than the beautiful shadows I intended to paint I concentrated on the variety in the grass color, it really is great for a couple weeks until it all turns green.

Shore Thaw

2010-03-26T14:36:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

Posts on consecutive days, I know, it's been a while. Did this last week at Lake Nakomis, beautiful day, not much to say the sun was shining the ice was melting, Spring.

Painting Backpack

2010-03-25T17:48:00.002-05:00

8x8 Oil

While I've still been working out on location quite a bit, I've also produced a series of small still lifes of stuff from around the studio, they're fun to paint.

Lake Pepin Shore

2010-03-25T17:43:00.003-05:00

11 x 14 Oil

Noticed that I was still getting traffic at my blog, who knew? So I thought I'd post some newer work. The irony is I've been in easily the most prolific span of painting in at least a year, I'm just terrible at keeping up with putting it out there.

Fireworks

2009-12-09T15:02:00.002-06:00

6x8 Oil

A small painting I did this fall, I really liked the movement in this scene, the leaves seem to be exploding off of the birch tree.

Old Ford

2009-12-06T18:39:00.003-06:00

11x14 Oil

I don't know why but these old trucks are a popular subject matter, for both painters and the public. It must have something to do with their cartoony shape and aged finish, each one seems to have a unique personality. I painted this in Door County Wisconsin last summer and finally photographed it this week.

Fast Water

2009-12-04T20:31:00.003-06:00

9x12 Oil

It's funny, the actual creek and rocks are so unremarkable in person, but somehow turned out looking rather dramatic in the painting. I wasn't intentionally going for that I was just trying to make everything look wet, that's my rule of thumb with water "when it looks wet, stop".

Grand Island, Michigan Paintings

2009-12-03T13:57:00.005-06:00

This past August I spent 2 weeks in Michigan's Hiawatha National Forest as the Artist in Residence, above is most of the work completed.

October Meadow

2009-12-03T10:52:00.001-06:00

11x14 Oil

First Fridays

2009-12-01T13:33:00.003-06:00

This is a new event that the studios in my neighborhood are promoting, I'll be open this Friday.

Puako or Looking for Neil Young

2009-12-01T13:15:00.002-06:00

11x14 Oil

Yes I was back in Hawaii last month, it was awesome. This is a new vantage point to a place I've painted in the past Puako Beach which is a great public beach on the Big Island, that's a little redundant since all the beaches are publicly owned. This one is just gorgeous, if anything I didn't get that water colorful enough, it was glowing. Oh yeah, Neil Young lives around here somewhere, I don't blame him.

Summer's Work

2009-10-16T11:38:00.003-05:00

Telluride Valley Floor 11x14 Oil

This was done last July while participating in the Telluride Plein Air Event. The best compliment I received during the show was from a 10 year old boy who recognized these rocks and pointed out to his parents where they were and that he likes to jump off off the one in the middle. That's one problem with a painting that doesn't have a human figure in it for scale, the large rocks are 4 feet high, and I'm not sure people got that, except for that boy. Telluride is an amazing place and I hope to paint there again.

Catching Up

2009-10-11T12:49:00.003-05:00

Cottage Steps 11x14 Oil

In no particular order I thought I'd start posting some paintings from the Summer's travels. This painting is also from the Michigan Artist in Residency, these are the steps to the Farrell Cottage on Grand Island which is where I stayed for 2 weeks. An odd painting but a favorite from the trip. Those damp mossy steps seem to evoke memories of a family vacation/camping experience, at least here in the Midwest. I was really happy with the ferns.

Just another note on the title change for the blog, "brush mileage" refers to the amount of years/paintings/experiences we accumulate pursuing this insane lifestyle, as well as reflecting the increasing amount of travel tied to my painting. I'll be back in Hawaii next month and I have a trip to the Yucatan planned for next February, so I'll get no sympathy when I complain about the cold weather in January.

To paraphrase Thomas Hart Benton, "Being a painter is the greatest job in the world, it's just the first 20 years that are rough"

New Blog Title ... or I'm Back

2009-10-10T13:18:00.004-05:00

Titanic 11x14 Oil

Well what can I say, it's been awhile. I changed the title of the blog since it hasn't been a painting a day site for months, it hasn't been much of a blog at all. Since my last entry I've been to Telluride Colorado and Door County Wisconsin for plein air events and spent 2 weeks on Grand Island doing an Artist's in Residence through the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I'll blog more on those experiences, the image above was painted in Michigan, while painting this old iron fishing boat I was approached by a local, and as often happens I was provided with the back story to my subject. The boat is referred to as Titanic and surprisingly is still in use, recently to haul rocks used to reinforce a shoreline along Lake Superior and prevent a lighthouse's foundation from being eroded away.

More soon, I promise

Badlands

2009-06-27T00:31:00.005-05:00

11x14 Oil

On the road to Telluride with Scott Llyod Anderson, we stopped at the Badlands National Park in South Dakota to paint. It is such an amazing landscape that only having time to do one painting there is a tease, but is was good to move the brushes and a nice warm up for the Plein Air event next week. I'm in Erie Colorado as I write this, tomorrow we're going paint somewhere along the way to Telluride, subject matter shouldn't be a problem as we cross the continental divide.

The Grand Cottonwood

2009-06-23T11:35:00.002-05:00

6x8 Oil

This small painting was done Saturday during my outdoor class. A student wanted to work on pulling form out of a big cottonwood tree so I said I would paint the same one, soon the entire class was lined up painting the same tree. It's a worthy subject, this tree dominates the Bruce Vento Park here in St. Paul.

I'm off to Colorado on Thursday for the Telluride Plein Air Event, I'll try to post from there.

Rock Flow

2009-06-22T12:34:00.002-05:00

11x14

Another Lake Superior shoreline, I could paint these for years and not get bored, they're so deceptively simply, but actually contain an amazing variety of shape and color. I love how bright the lake can get in certain light conditions.

Lake's Edge

2009-06-18T09:09:00.005-05:00

14x18 Oil

A student from last week's workshop sent me a couple of pics of the demo I did, so I'm including the in-progress image. I love to paint these rock formations, they're beautiful and challenging. I think I need a new painting jacket.

Artist's Point in the Morning

2009-06-17T12:26:00.003-05:00

11x14 Oil

I painted this on the last day of the workshop, it was the best weather and most consistent light effect of the week so it was really fun to pull the form out of those rocks. For all the times I've painted in Grand Marais I've never put the Lighthouse in , so that was kind of fun. The water was incredibly blue with the sun over my left shoulder, very little glare just rich Ultramarine Blue.

Grand Marais Minnesota Workshop

2009-06-15T16:52:00.009-05:00

Painting at Artist's Point

I just got back to town after teaching a 4 day workshop with my friend and fellow plein air painter Neil Sherman. The weather was good if a little chillier than a prefer my Junes. It's an amazing bit of the Lake Superior shoreline, full of interesting ancient volcanic rock formations, completely different than Superior's south shore which is full of sand dunes. The photos above
should give you a feel for the week, the man in blue painting is Neil giving a demo on the first morning as a fog bank rolled in, note the roll of paper towels in the back pocket. I did a little painting as well and will post those this week.

Summit Alley

2009-06-05T15:08:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

Painted this on Tuesday evening, I'd walked past this spot countless times the past year and I knew the light I wanted to capture and this is it. So many times I set out with a painting in mind and wind up with something completely different, for better or worse, but with this painting I got just what I had in my head.

Late Light on Lava

2009-05-21T10:55:00.004-05:00

18x24 Oil

This is a studio piece I did of the large chunks of red lava that make up much of the western slope on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's funny, the grass growing around the lava looks so soft and inviting in the painting, actually it felt like course steel wool. Planning a return trip back to the isles in November.

Crazy Greens

2009-05-20T12:46:00.002-05:00

9x12 Oil

Well I have been painting, I just haven't been very good about posting. It was 97 degrees yesterday and the fresh new greens everywhere were shimmering. This was painted at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, which is becoming a favorite haunt. For the three of you that still check this page from time to time, I intend to increase the postings.

Note: I've added a link to my buddy Dave Esmond's band The August Teens, check it out.

Art Crawl this Weekend

2009-04-22T09:27:00.001-05:00

Framing and hanging for the show this weekend, hope you can make it. For complete info visit www.artcrawl.org, back to work.

Creek Colors

2009-04-21T11:55:00.002-05:00

11x14 Oil

Well since the move I've been working in the studio finishing up a few paintings for the Saint Paul Art Crawl, which is a studio tour that takes place this weekend. For more info on that you can go to www.Artcrawl.org , it's a three day event with a couple hundred of open studios. It's fun to rework some of these paintings that I liked parts of but needed a little changes in composition or color , etc. I have to admit I also messed up a couple in the process but that's the risk you have to take. Hope some of you come by the studio to see the paintings in person, I'm in the Northern Warehouse Building, 308 Prince St. #510.

I'm Back, or Did I really say painting a day?

2009-04-09T11:26:00.004-05:00

Actually I have pretty good excuse for my blogging absence, as excuses go. The last couple of weeks I moved, and when you live in your studio it's quite the ordeal. I do recommend that everyone occasionally go through every single thing they own and toss out or give away about a third of it, that's basically what I've done, massive streamlining. I was in my old live/work space for 6 years and that it turns out was plenty of time to accumulate all sorts of stuff thinking "I'll use that someday".

The new space is fantastic, great light, high ceilings, 1800 sq. ft. I'm still settling in, (and purging stuff) but it's going to be a bright happy place to live and work, I also have more room to teach classes in which is an added benefit. Snapped a couple of pics to post, I'm painting again, a little rusty I admit, so I'll post some new work soon.

The paintings on the brick wall are hung on random existing nails, I'm installing a hanging system so I don't pepper that great cream brick with more holes. The Saint Paul Art Crawl is coming up April 24th-26th and I look forward to displaying in the new space.

Artist's Point

2009-03-19T14:21:00.004-05:00

8x10 Oil

Yes this scene is a little out of season, it's a small painting I started last July in Grand Marais Minnesota. I've been thinking of it lately due to the workshop I'm teaching, (along with Neil Sherman) and decided to finish it from memory. I love painting the rock formations on Artist's Point and was I liked the rhythm of the opposing angles in this composition. If you would like information 0n the Workshop, June 11th-14th, email me with "Grand Marais" in the subject line.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:21:00.003-05:00

6x8 Oil

Beautiful morning, a couple of more days like this and the ice will be off the lakes. Off to have a Guinness.

Mid March

2009-03-14T13:56:00.004-05:00

8x10 Oil

I really liked the bright yellow clumps of reeds against the cool top plane of the snow on the pond. Simple perhaps but sometimes the hardest part is to keep it simple.

The Credit River

2009-03-13T15:56:00.003-05:00

8x10 Oil

I wish it had a more poetic name, but you can only use "Spring Thaw" so many times. The temperatures are climbing and it occurred to me this could be the final snow painting of the winter, then I remembered that I live in Minnesota and I'll have at least 2 more snowfalls by April.

Grand Marais from Pin Cushion

2009-03-12T09:08:00.004-05:00

9x12 Oil

An amazing light effect on Lake Superior, I had to work quickly to capture it as the sun set behind my right shoulder.

Clear Water Lake

2009-03-11T10:05:00.006-05:00

12x16 Oil

Well it's been a while since I blogged. I've been in Grand Marais Minnesota since Saturday painting with my buddy Neil Sherman (see The Lure of the North Shore blog below). He took me to Clear Water Lake, which is on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, very close to Canada to paint these huge palisades. Below is a snapshot Neil took of me, it looks like I'm on the edge of the world, guess I was. Neil and I are going to do a joint workshop in Grand Marais this summer, I should have the dates worked out this week.

Coat Tree

2009-03-05T16:20:00.006-06:00

8x10 Oil

Sort of a bleak little painting on a gray dreary day in the Twin Cities. After working all morning on a large studio landscape I decided to take advantage of the soft light filtering through the studio window and set up this composition.

Schulze Lake

2009-03-03T14:20:00.002-06:00

10x10 Oil

I painted this out at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, it has a great trail system and just as I was cleaning up a cross country skier looked at it and said it need to put the ski tracks in. I did and it was the perfect finishing touch.

Old Hat

2009-03-02T10:35:00.006-06:00

6x8 Oil

My neighbor the artist Teresa Cox moved last week and was getting rid of these Samsonite suitcases which have to be from the 50's. As painting subject matter I thought it needed another element so plopped a hat on the end of one. Nice thing about these small paintings is you don't over think them. I didn't hit me until I started to paint, but I did a series of hat paintings 25 years ago when I was in college.

Mouse Tracks

2009-02-28T15:39:00.004-06:00

6x8 Oil

I do love to paint snow on rocks, it helps balance out the "I live in a climate with 5 1/2 months of winter" thing. It was 0 degrees when we went out to paint this morning but it was sunny and there was no wind, I never felt cold. Wind trumps temperature every time.

Creek Bed

2009-02-25T14:00:00.003-06:00

6x8 Oil

This is a small study of a shallow creek at a park where I teach. This is one of those paintings that I might not have done before this blog, just a quick study without any delusions of grandeur, executed only to understand what's going on with the value and color of the light on the bed of that creek. Glad I did it, cutting loose on complex effects helps to keep me sharp.

Night Portrait

2009-02-24T07:59:00.003-06:00

9x12 Oil

That's me, sort of.

Superior Headland

2009-02-19T16:48:00.006-06:00

6x8 Oil

Another quick study from a photograph I took during the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise last August, I just love these rock formations. I'm trying to work out which reference photo to use as a basis for a larger painting.

Now for something completely different

2009-02-18T12:53:00.005-06:00

6x8 Oil

I wanted to do a still life last night and I just threw a couple of things together. Not the sort of thing I normally paint but I enjoyed doing it quite a bit.

Lone Pine

2009-02-17T22:17:00.004-06:00

6x8 Oil

Back in the Midwest. Well there is beauty everywhere, and I do love to paint snow although getting away from it for a week in February was very nice. Jet lag and a hectic day leaves me at a loss for words, until next time, aloha.

Saddle Road

2009-02-15T12:04:00.002-06:00

9x12 Oil

The last painting of the trip. The trade winds were so strong that I thought painting would be impossible, but heading up the west slope of Mauna Kea we found a pocket of calm. That's Muana Loa in the background, at 13,677 it's the second highest point on the island, it still erupts every one hundred years. Its been an amazing trip, I love Hawaii. I did 11 paintings and still managed a bit of beach time, I'll post some of the others soon.

Puako Lava Beach

2009-02-13T12:12:00.003-06:00

9x12 Oil

Sometimes you pick the composition, sometimes it's forced upon you. I set up at one of the many public access sites along the Puako coast. Twenty minutes into the effort I noticed the ocean was encroaching on my position. What does a guy from the Midwest know about tides? So I moved my easel to higher ground and started over.

Hapuna Beach

2009-02-11T17:19:00.004-06:00

11x14 Oil

Another beautiful day in parardise. Not much to say, I'm off for an afternoon paint, ahola.

Before Sunset

2009-02-10T12:22:00.008-06:00

9x12 Oil

This is a view that I've wanted to paint for awhile, the sunlight slicing through the clouds creating this massisve glare on the ocean. The nice part about painting right into twilight is you know you're moments away from a Mai Tai.

Puako Beach

2009-02-09T17:41:00.007-06:00

12x16 Oil

This is a great little public beach very close to where we're staying. I'm happy with the results, but chasing that surf will drive you crazy, not that I'm complaining. It was a nice way to spend the morning.

Kohala Coast

2009-02-08T23:05:00.001-06:00

11x14 Oil

I'm in Hawaii, I arrived yesterday and was very excited to get out and paint today. Mary and I drove to the top of hwy 250 which is the road between Waimea and Hawi. After a few stops deciding what to paint, (everything is beautiful) we pulled over at this view, 3000 feet up, looking south with a view of the entire Kohala Coast. Why not?

Bok Choy

2009-02-06T20:16:00.006-06:00

9x12 Oil

Easily the best bok choy I've ever painted. I did this as a demo, concentrating on the blocking in of the shapes, thinking in mass not line. As a result it turned out a little chunky looking, but I'm pleased with certain passages, the tin pan, the bok choy leaves... the lemon, um not so much.

Minnehaha Falls

2009-02-05T17:17:00.005-06:00

11x14 Oil

I went painting with my buddy Scott today, the frozen Minnehaha Falls is one of Scott's favorite subjects so I tagged along and gave it a shot. It was a bright sunny day and there was so much light bouncing around off the snow and ice that I had a hard time getting the shadows luminous enough without making them too bright. The color variety in the ice was amazing, challenging but fun to paint.

Pictured Rocks

2009-02-04T15:47:00.007-06:00

6x8 Oil

I did this small sketch from a photograph that a took last August while back in the Upper Peninsula, it was during a Pictured Rocks boat cruise. I might do a larger studio version of this, I think all the reflected light and cast shadows on the rock formation would be fun to paint scaled up to a 24x30 canvas.

Bruce Vento Cottonwood

2009-02-03T21:28:00.004-06:00

6x8 Oil

I've painted this tree at least a dozen times over the last few years, it's a huge cottonwood near my studio. This was late in the day with about twenty minutes of sunlight left and everything
had a reddish glow.

Lake Elmo Park

2009-02-02T11:14:00.005-06:00

8x12 Oil

Another beautiful winter day for painting outdoors in the Midwest, we've had five now. My favorite part of this piece is the late day rosy color of the bare trees far side of the lake.

Snow Paths

2009-01-31T18:47:00.003-06:00

6x8 Oil

It was a beautiful morning, sunny, warm and no wind. If it was like this every day I would have no problem with winter. This is very quick demo I did for my class this morning, wish I had would of had time to do a larger version, oh well, tomorrow I'm spending the whole day painting, if I don't Blog it's because I'm still out there trying to capture a late day light effect.

Curiously Strong

2009-01-30T18:11:00.004-06:00

6x8 Oil

It seemed like a good challenge, both the drawing of the tin in perspective, and in the value differences between the tissue and the glare on the lid. Not sure how well I pulled it all off, but hey there's always tomorrow.

Work Clothes

2009-01-29T10:59:00.011-06:00

6x8 Oil

I've had that hat for a couple of years, I bought it in a Ranger Station at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan during a very good painting trip. A friend refers to it as my "regional tourist hat", it's pretty beat up so I'm commemorating it with this painting.

Winter Creek

2009-01-28T16:19:00.003-06:00

7x11 Oil

I hate to obsess about the weather but it's January in Minnesota and that's what we do. It was forecast that the high today would get up to 26-28 degrees, but alas it was more like 10 while I was painting this. I love painting snow but hate being cold, I've discovered that it's all about the socks.

Back Lit Bananas

2009-01-27T21:47:00.002-06:00

6x8 Oil

I set these on a piece of foamcore board in front of the window to play around with a back lit effect. I just blew out the sky into a late day winter pink. The shapes were fun but surprisingly challenging to draw. Stay tuned for more produce.

The Pepper

2009-01-26T08:44:00.004-06:00

6x8 Oil

Yes I went to the produce section of Kowalski's for subject matter. Once you start looking at fruit and vegetables as painting fodder you can go a little crazy deciding on just the right pepper, people stare.

The Ascot

2009-01-25T00:09:00.008-06:00

6x8 Oil

Ok, so it was a small class and so I wouldn't be hovering over their shoulders I did another sketch of a penguin. Who could resist? This one aussmed a pose that made it look like it was wearing an ascot, at least that's what I thought.

Posing Penguin

2009-01-24T15:52:00.006-06:00

6x8 Oil

It was -11 (degrees not windchill) today so I held my Saturday painting class at Como Zoo, I did this Penguin as a demo for the students. They actually were great models, holding poses quite well such as the one above, striking sort of a John Barrymore profile.

January Saint Paul

2009-01-23T10:44:00.004-06:00

Oil 6x8

It got up to a balmy 23 degrees yesterday so I decided to get out of the studio and did a couple of quick studies. This is from a park in my neighborhood, I always like the way the skyline silhouettes late in the afternoon.

Kit Cup

2009-01-22T10:58:00.001-06:00

First posting, I'm a plein air landscape painter but when the temperatures start to hover around 0 degrees outside I decided it was time to try something new. I've been impressed with the work being done on the painting a day blog sites and thought it was a good time to jump in.