Dodie Logue's Painting Week

Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cows, Goat

2012-02-06T10:28:00.004-05:00

Life in the Southwest: Every morning I put out bird food and water and watch the creatures come in. First the birds come in waves, and I witness a different set of avians than I would in Minnesota. The few that are the same - Cardinals, Chipping Sparrows, behave and even sometimes look a little different, and it's a fun study. Then the rodents - Pack rats, Rock squirrels, Antelope squirrels; followed by Havalina and deer (Coues white-tail deer, a subspecies of White-tail ) who clean out the feeders. It's a good show.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk hit a window while chasing a small bird the other day, and I was able to go out and sit with it while it recovered (it did make a full recovery) and take some photos. They give the appearance of being bigger than they are, really being only Mourning Dove size. Regal and fierce.

What have I been working on? With all the cows in beautiful landscape here, it is hard not to take an interest in them. Their strange shapes and wonderful markings, their funny behavior and especially their suspect history in this area all interest me. I have also made one visit to the goat farm I go to to get my organic vegetables and get goat reference - why am I so pulled to these silly critters ?! Thank you labuenavidafarm.com for letting me visit their Dwarf Nigerian Goats.

Lake Pepin Art and Design Center Benefit

2012-01-19T08:56:00.002-05:00

Sorry about how small this is, technical difficulties with the web-master, that would be me. Double click on the image and it will enlarge. I donated a small oil painting of Lake Pepin and the Maiden Rock Bluffs, the little upper right image on the poster. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph it before I let it go, so I have no image of it. My sister Mary donated a wonderful hooked rug, and there are other great works that are just a raffle ticket away! Anyone who can make the benefit, it is a worthy cause and should be a really fun time with music and food and art - Saturday, January 28, 4-8 at the Center.

My View

2012-01-10T20:43:00.003-05:00

This is the view out my window for the next few months! I just drove down to SE Arizona with my cat Moby as sidekick. I made it in record time - (thank you Elle for the great gift of lectures on my ipod) Moby didn't like stopping and I figured out how to use a tennis ball on my hamstrings and seat while driving to release tight muscles. If anyone has sciatic pain while distance driving this is an amazing help. During my drive the moon was a wonderful guide in the dark of dawn and dusk, blazing the westward way. My plan is to start exploring some new things in paint. This equals a high risk of failure and a high probability of no posts of my work, but I am sure to come up with other interesting things to post while I am down here.

Water Studies

2012-01-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

Charcoal on paper

11 x 15 (each)

Happy New Year! I decided my first post of the year would be water images. Water has been in my dreams a lot lately, and I have been thinking of "going with the flow" , "fluidity" , and how water finds the path of least resistance. Wondering if we steer our lives or do our lives steer us?

Sarapiqui River

2011-12-26T17:32:00.007-05:00

charcoal on paper

15 x 19

I just finished this piece which is the Sarapiqui River in Costa Rica at dusk. I took some progression photos so viewers can get an idea of how my charcoals are done.

The first photo is a view of my set-up in my studio, drawing table with all my implements on a small side-table on the left. I mostly stand when I work, sometimes sitting for the more detailed drawing.

This is how I start. First I tape the paper down to the size and shape I want, then I usually cover the whole piece of paper with powdered vine charcoal. The only time I wouldn't do this is if I need some pure white areas, then I would cover everything but that area. Next, (below) I take a chamois and various erasers and loosely "carve" away the light areas, so I get the structure and values started.

Now, (above and below) I go back in with hard charcoal sticks and pencils to get the really dark areas. The paper wants to show through so fingers must be used to really mush the charcoal into the paper to get dark blacks.

The finishing can take a lot of tweaking with all the various charcoals and tools to get the right balance of light and dark, good edges and smooth fades. Below is the finished piece. This piece is all masses and not much line; I will post another piece soon showing more of the drawing techniques.

On another note, Happy Holidays!! Don't feel neglected if you did not get a card this year, I didn't send any out. Today, December 26th, it was 50 degrees here!? I had a nice hike with my sister and we saw a wonderful thing, a Townsend's Solitaire. This is a bird that is fairly unusual in Minnesota, it is auspicious to me and made me so happy to see it.

Two Trees

2011-12-18T17:21:00.003-05:00

Charcoal on paper

20 x 26

This is a piece I just finished... I wondered about posting it because it feels strange to me, like I didn't do it. The view is out in my woods, a mere skiff of snow dusting the ground, twilight and skeletal...

On another note, I just returned from a fantastic birding trip to Costa Rica! - Saw many wonderful things - birds, mammals, butterflies, frogs - in rain forest and cloud forest.

The coffee there is amazing. Our bird guide's parents own an organic coffee farm which we were lucky to be able to visit. I had no idea all that is involved in producing coffee, and how potentially hard it can be on the environment. I highly recommend anyone concerned who also loves coffee to buy from them, they have a distributor in the US. - cafecristina.com. The coffee is out of this world - really!

Last Swan photo

2011-11-22T17:15:00.005-05:00

Seward, Alaska

charcoal on paper

12 x 16

Swan Update: The top photo may be the last picture of the single swan that remained on the pond this fall up until 2 days ago. I was getting worried about it as the ice was beginning to freeze - some days it needed breaking so the swan could get water. Luckily this has been an extremely mild fall so far, and the muskrats are doing a great job of keeping the pond open somewhere. Last week seven swans flew over the pond low, circling and calling, and still our swan didn't leave to join them, very unusual. So it really seemed like it could not fly for some reason. Four days ago I had someone from the Trumpeter Swan Society out to assess the situation, and we had decided that as soon as the ice was hard enough to walk on we would catch it and release it at Rebecca Park, where they keep the water open all winter for swans who stick around. Then yesterday it was nowhere to be seen; same today. I hope it was finally able to fly and made it to some open water, it will probably remain a mystery.

The charcoal of Seward, Alaska, was done last fall, after my birding trip there. I was looking through my work for pieces with a water-theme, I am thinking of submitting work for a show that is about water. This piece reminded me of today's weather, damp and spritzy and chilly.

New (old) easel

2011-11-08T12:19:00.005-05:00

I just returned from a few days in Stockholm, WI, where, along with visiting the Maiden Rock Bluff SNA, I picked up my new (old) easel! (above, left). I have wanted a "real" studio easel for awhile now. I have been using my Julien Plein Air easel, made for portable use and painting outside, in my studio for over 5 years. It is a bit flimsy, (above, Julien on R) and the legs splay out, good for tripping on. My new (old) easel was given to me by my good friend and artist Barbara McIlrath, barbaramcilrath.net/. I had been looking on Craigs list for half a year or so now, and finally had the idea to ask some of my artist friends if they had or knew of an old easel that needed a good home. This beauty was given to Barbara by a teacher at one of the colleges in Minneapolis. I couldn't imagine anything better than having an old workhorse of an easel that was used by many students. Unfortunately I had to cut off almost 3 ft from the top, as my studio is tiny and the ceilings are low..... hard to do, but once done it fit right in. I did some sanding and nailing and WD40ing and it's good to go!

North Shore paint-sketches

2011-10-30T16:58:00.003-04:00

Cove/Rocks

Gull-Rock

Tide Pool

A promised post from my North Shore trip. I went up to the Shore (of Lake Superior) in Late September with some painter friends for a week of painting and companionship. It can be so helpful to be buoyed by other's energy when you are feeling low, and when the weather is volatile! These three tiny oil sketches were done in under an hour each as a warm-up and to start getting a handle on the experience of color and atmosphere and mood.

Swans, continued

2011-10-19T15:27:00.004-04:00

I am getting concerned about the two young Trumpeter Swans on my pond (above). Mid-summer, the parents and two of the Cygnets were gone one day, and have not been seen since. It is very unusual for the parents to abandon their young - what could have happened? I was worried from the beginning that our pond was too small to sustain them all, maybe they tried to walk on to another larger body of water and for some reason the two remaining were unable to follow.... My fear is that these two have never learned how to fly?! They need quite a bit of surface water to run on and to take off from, and our pond is really small, especially at this time of year. On top of that, it is surrounded by 6 ft. tall native prairie, and if they took to land thinking they could run there to take off, they would have a hard time with the grass... I check on them daily; they are always there, just poking around for something to eat, slowly swimming away when I get too close. I have never seen them fly or attempt to. I finally contacted a person with the swan program at the Park District. She thought maybe they could be slightly malnourished, so I have started throwing out corn. If they are still around when the ice starts to freeze, we will have to catch them and release them in the Swan Refuge at Lake Rebecca Park, in Wright County. I need a happy ending.

Thanks

2011-10-13T16:34:00.003-04:00

Here is a photo of some of my work installed in the barn at the McIlrath Farm for the recent Fresh Art Show. I wanted to send out a thanks to everyone for their support, especially Barb and Rob for hosting the event at their place and inviting me to be a guest artist, my sister Mary for coming and helping out, and Holly and Harriet for their continual input and art-support.

And of course the weather, for being not only cooperative, but beautiful!

Sense of Place

2011-10-10T18:01:00.000-04:00

(top) Branches charcoal on paper, 13 x 16

(middle) Dawn Birds charcoal on paper, 13 x 16

(bottom) Trees/Clouds charcoal on paper, 13 x 16

These three pieces will be in the upcoming show Sense of Place, which will be at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts from October 13 - November 3. This is an exhibition of landscapes in a variety of media and styles representing both traditional and contemporary approaches to this enduring subject. The opening is Thursday, October 13, from 6 - 8pm.

For more information about the Minnetonka Art Center go to minnetonkaarts.org

Fresh Art Fall Show

2011-10-03T15:18:00.005-04:00

Bird Tree

charcoal on paper

16 x 20

(double click to enlarge)

This charcoal is one of the pieces I will be exhibiting at the 2011 Fresh Art Fall Tour in Pepin, WI, this Friday - Sunday, from 10 -5 pm. Check out the web-site freshart.org for more information including a tour map. I will be at site#14, Barbara McIlrath's studio. This is a wonderful chance to see some great art and the beautiful fall colors of the Mississippi River bluff lands at the same time - I hope to see some of you there!

I just returned from a week painting on the North Shores of Lake Superior. I had a great time with some dear friends and painters; I will post more on this after the show.

Whooping Crane

2011-09-10T18:57:00.007-04:00

I was very happy to see a pair of Whooping Cranes in Minnesota today!! These birds are the tallest in North America and were once on the brink of extinction - in 1941 only 16 individuals were left. Now there are just over 400 in the wild. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo - they were far out in a marsh.

Here is some information on these particular birds, thanks to Dan Tallman's Blog:

Eve Szyszkoski of the International Crane Foundation Writes -

"Based on the band numbers, these two birds are an adult breeding pair, both four years old. They nested this year near the Necedah NWR but abandoned their nest on May 4. Two eggs were collected (one infertile, one fertile but addled). They have a history of moving into Minnesota in the summer or fall and will most likely begin migration from Minnesota. One was raised and released using the ultra-light release method, and one was released using the direct Autumn Release method. They have been together for about three years now."

How cool!

Maple

2011-08-20T14:45:00.003-04:00

Maple

charcoal on paper

20 x 26

This drawing and three others of mine, as well as wonderful work by other PAN artists, are on view at the current PAN show at the Phipps Center, in Hudson Wisconsin:

Project Art for Nature, led by River Falls based artist Vera Ming Wong, consists of approximately 27 artists and illustrators from many areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. To highlight nearby gems of prairie, forest, river and wetland, PAN artists create artworks focused on individually chosen natural areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Visiting the sites regularly throughout a two-to-three-year cycle, observations of seasonal and cumulative changes in native plant and animal communities spark curiosity, reflection and creative responses. The participating artists share their sites and insights into both nature and art with one another and, through exhibitions and related educational programs, with the general public.

Places Between, Species Within: Project Art for Nature's fourth cycle unfurls with a show of new works, by both new and renewing artists, at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin. Exhibit Dates: 19 Aug – 25 Sep 2011; Opening Reception, 26 Aug, 6:30-8:30 pm. Round Table Discussion with Exhibiting Artists, 25 Sep 2011, 2:00-4:00 pm. Check the Phipps website for gallery hours, www.ThePhipps.org. For more information about Project Art for Nature and participating artists, please visit www.projectartfornature.org.

Swan Family

2011-08-14T12:39:00.004-04:00

I just went out to try and find the swans; I wanted to get some more photos before they leave. The babies take 3-4 months before they are ready to fly, and are protected by both parents until that time. It can be surprisingly hard to find them through the thick-mosquito-ridden cattails. Amazingly, all four are still around! I love their quiet presence, so different from Canada Geese. An interesting note - the 1975 edition of Minnesota Birds by Jan Green and Bob Janssen lists Trumpeter Swans as extirpated from Minnesota - what a happy success story!

Show at the Phipps

2011-08-11T18:54:00.004-04:00

I am part of the group PAN - projectartfornature.org - and we are having a show at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson WI. (Double click on the above card to see the fine print. ) The show is based on ecologically important sites around Wisconsin and Minnesota region. My site is Lake Pepin and the Maiden Rock Bluffs SNA area, I will include some of my charcoal pieces. It should be a great show and I hope to see some of you there, the opening is August 26th, from 6:30 - 8:30.

Trumpeter Swans

2011-07-25T17:00:00.003-04:00

The Trumpeter Swans have hatched four chicks on our pond and I have been watching their progress. They are superb parents; every time I try to sneak up through the cattails for a look they are on me and herding the little ones out of view. I snapped this quick right before they disappeared into the weeds.

Overlook

2011-07-11T18:55:00.004-04:00

Overlook

charcoal on paper

20 x 26

(SOLD)

I will be participating in Tangle Town Garden's Garden and Art Tour on Saturday the 23 of July - everyone is invited! The event is from 9 - 4 and there will be a great party afterwards. This a wonderful chance to see some of Minneapolis' best gardens and art by local artists. The gardens will not be announced until the day of the tour ( to protect the owners from early birds, etc ?) , but I can say I will be in a lovely garden with lots of shade and ponds. The tour is a fundraiser with proceeds going to help fund public art and garden projects in the Twin Cities. I was invited to participate by Swan Song Gallery. For more information contact me or tangletowngardens.com. I hope to see you there!

Rainy Lake

2011-06-24T16:16:00.003-04:00

Rainy Lake

oil on canvas

6 x 8

It is hard to find time to post in these summer months. Last week I went up north to Voyageurs National Park for some painting, birding, and being. The top photo is the house boat which we rented and moored on a 6 acre island, becoming a wonderful home base - luxury camping! The weather was fantastic and I managed to get out painting quite a bit, doing small studies of views from the island (above).

I like these words by artist Charles W. Hawthorne:

Do studies, not pictures. Know when you are licked - start another. Be alive, stop when your interest is lost. Put off finish - make lots of starts..... Starting with a note of truth in a piece is the important thing - the first color you put down influences you straight through. Do not put things down approximately - you will take a wrong thing and unconsciously key everything to it, making it false. Never mind if your whole canvas in not successful. If one spot is successful, it is enough. Do a bit of truth.

One more thing, the Trumpeter Swans on our pond have had cygnets - four small grey fluffys swimming around!

Rookery

2011-06-06T14:56:00.003-04:00

Cormorant Rookery photograph

Last week I went birding in North Dakota. Almost June and I was wishing I had my down jacket! This is a photograph of a Cormorant Rookery seen from the road on the way to Lake Osakis, right off Interstate 94. I love the spangly nest forms against the sky.

This Friday, June 10, 5 - 9 pm I will be participating in the St. Cloud Art Crawl. I will be set up in Falcon National Bank, 1010 W. St. Germain, along with the other artists who were awarded Individual Artist Grants. I hope to see some of you there.

Morels

2011-05-22T11:20:00.003-04:00

I have been out in the woods painting some the past few weeks. Last week I set up and after working an hour or so I took a break to look at the spring ephemerals and found a bunch of morels about 10 yards from where I was working! Over a couple of pounds this season so far.

I have been painting trees and trying to figure out the color of bark - is it grey/green? reddish/brown? slatey/violet? Ochre, rust, light eggplant? They all seem to be present and I was having a really hard time. So I started going up to the trunk and putting dabs of the colors I was mixing right on the tree to try and match it. Pretty silly I know, because from where I was set-up, the atmosphere and changing light would greatly affect the perceived color.....

Trumpeter Swans

2011-05-09T15:00:00.004-04:00

This photo was taken at the pond in my back yard. A pair of Trumpeter swans has been hanging out and they look like they are making a nest! How cool. Trumpeters are the largest North American waterfowl and they are the largest swan in the world. By the 1930's they were nearly extinct; thanks to the Endangered Species Act there are now over 5,ooo in the world. It sure would be fun to watch some cygnets (baby swans) grow....

Sky/Hill

2011-04-22T18:58:00.004-04:00

charcoal on paper

17 x 21

After applying and getting rejected for the last four years, I was just notified that this year I have been awarded an Individual Artist Grant by the Central Minnesota Arts Board! www.centralmnartsboard.org

A much needed and appreciated career and ego boost. The work I submitted with my application was my recent charcoal pieces, much of which I have posted here over the past months.

Moon

2011-04-14T15:48:00.002-04:00

charcoal on paper

17 x 22

I am back from the southwest and have been so caught up in picking up the pieces of my life that I have been remiss about posting..... It's a cold and sleety day in Minnesota, but here are two hopeful poems from my favorite book of love poems called "The Ink Dark Moon":

Nothing

in the word

is usual today.

This is

the first morning.

Even though

these pine trees

keep their original color,

everything green

is different in spring.

- Izumi Shikibu

Goats

2011-03-28T14:17:00.003-04:00

Oil on canvas, 12 x 16

My time is winding down here in Arizona...... sad! It has been a great couple of months. I found an organic farm where I have been getting eggs and produce, and they also have goats. I have been doing some goat studies in oil - I love the fur patterns and the shapes of their bodies and especially their personalities. Other news is that after many years of trying to see an Elegant Trogon, I finally saw one yesterday! Made me cry. I wish I had a photo to post, but mine is just a small red and green dot. Check it out on google images, a pretty amazing bird for America, looks like the tropics.

Arizona Critters

2011-03-08T12:35:00.004-05:00

Collared Peccary, aka Javelina; White-Nosed Coati up in a tree; Black-Throated Sparrows ; these are some of the critters I am seeing around my place. The Javelinas raid my bird feeder every day. I go out to try and scare them away, but they just look at me and resume munching down the seeds. I believe Coatis are in the raccoon family, they are a bit larger with very long tails - cute!

Hiking Chiricahua Monument

2011-02-26T13:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I went with a couple of friends over to the west side of the Chiricahuas to hike in the Monument area. It was a fantastic day, like walking through a fairy-land of wild rock formations. The second photo is called "Punch and Judy", for obvious reasons. The last photo is a shot of the canyon from the top, we hiked down about 10 miles to the visitor center.

I have to admit I am doing a lot more hiking than painting....

Southwest - My view

2011-02-14T17:07:00.004-05:00

I am in the southwest for my annual winter sojourn. The views in all directions from my place are spectacular - it's hard to get working because all I want to do is sit and look, absorb. I was talking to my artist friend Harriet about this and she gave wonderful advice, she said

"You are living in the painting. Be that."

I received some good news last week, I have been accepted into an art group called PAN - projectartfornature.org. It is a group of Minnesota and Wisconsin artists who share a combined interest in art and nature/conservancy. Check out the site for more information. The group puts on a couple of shows a year, I will be posting upcoming information on my Blog.

Deep Woods

2011-01-23T11:10:00.005-05:00

charcoal on paper

20 x 26

I am reading "In Praise of Shadows" by Tanizaki again. It is a little slip of a book full of beautiful insights on culture and the psyche. I was thinking after my last post about light, that shadow is equally important and powerful, and I decided to post this interior-woods-shadowy piece.

"So benumbed are we nowadays by electric lights that we have become utterly insensitive to the evils of excessive illumination."

Tanizaki

Thinking of this as I am getting ready for my annual southwest sojourn to Portal, AZ, which has arguably the darkest night sky in the lower 48.

Morning Pines

2011-01-10T13:22:00.002-05:00

charcoal on paper

26 x 20

Sometimes it just seems like there is a lot to be sad about, like the recent shootings in Tucson. I came across this quote that I wrote in my journal (but I forgot to note who wrote it) -

"Nature reflects light, which fills the entire world."

I love this, both in the literal and the metaphoric sense. I wanted the first piece that I posted in this new year to be filled with light.

White Buffalo

2010-12-31T16:22:00.005-05:00

oil on canvas

10 x 14

Happy New Year to All! I hope this year is the best yet.

I saw this young Buffalo when I was out in Colorado last spring on a bird trip. White Buffalo are considered to be sacred signs in several Native American religions.

"A white Buffalo carries a message to the people to whom it appears, warning them that hard times will be arriving unless the people examine the way they've been living and learn to live in a way that is better for all."

- Nativevillage.org

This seems like a good resolution to start the year with.

Birch

2010-12-20T12:17:00.004-05:00

Birch

oil on canvas

16 x 20

Wishing you all a peaceful Holiday and New Year! It's not a pine tree.... When the temperature drops below zero, (which it has done already a few times this year), my little studio just can't keep up with the cold. So I have set up in the house and painted a few times this month. There is a dead birch tree out the front window that I love looking at, especially since it is usually hosting some woodpecker or other bird. I painted this over the course of a couple days, when we were lucky to have the clear thin blue sky of winter.

Trees/Sky

2010-11-29T17:15:00.003-05:00

charcoal on paper

16 x 20

sold

I have been reading a wonderful book, called Letters On Cezanne, by Rilke. It contains many letters that he wrote to his wife one Fall in 1907 when he was in Paris. At that time there was a large exhibition of Cezanne's work; Rilke "discovered" this and went nearly every day, spending hours with the paintings. These letters are a beautiful portrait of the close relationship he had with his wife, as well as intimate looks at both Rilke and Cezanne. Walking and absorbing Paris, he writes:

" These are the days when everything is all around you, luminous, light, barely intimated in the bright air and yet distinct; even what is nearest has the tones of distance..."

I have some work in the Holiday show at the Lake Pepin art and Design Center in Pepin, WI. The show will run from November 26 - December 31; stop by if you are in the area.

Black Hills Evening

2010-11-22T14:18:00.002-05:00

Charcoal on paper

16 x 20

When asked why he paints what he paints, artist Neil Welliver responded:

"I have no idea, no verbal answer to that. I am interested in flora and fauna, in the topology and topography. So I do a lot of mindless rambling through the woods. Then I have a sense of place. It feels right, something engages me."

Precisely.

Black Hills Pines

2010-11-08T15:22:00.002-05:00

charcoal on paper

15 x 18

I have been working on charcoals that were influenced by my recent trip to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. I loved wandering around the woods looking up at the incredibly tall Lodge Pole (?) pines. Sometimes a piece may be as much about the sound as the visual aspect, really about the total experience of being there.

Sky Pesher

2010-11-01T12:14:00.005-04:00

I have just spent the last hour and a half trying to load a video of my favorite work of art at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Sky Pesher by James Turell. I have been unsuccessful thus far, so am posting this image of the view from inside the piece. I wanted to post this because I am surprised by how few local people know of it's existence. It is located behind the Walker, basically over the underground parking lot. It is an amazing sanctuary-space, and really has to be experienced firsthand to be appreciated. The slabs of rock that make up the benches are heated in the winter! Check it out.

2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest

2010-10-18T11:26:00.003-04:00

Jim's first place design

Bob's second place entry

This past Friday and Saturday the annual Federal Duck Stamp Contest was held out in Berkley, CA. This year the five eligible species were Brant, Canada Goose, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Greater White-fronted Goose. After the second round, my husband Bob was tied for first place with his brother Jim (Hautman). Jim ended up winning in the tie-breaker, Bob got second. Every year Duck Stamp sales raise over 25 million dollars, most of which go directly for conservation of critical habitat. Duck Stamps are available at your post office ($15.) and in addition to helping conservation you get something beautiful.

For more information on the Duck Stamp Program: http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/

To view all 236 of this year's entries http://www.outdoorsweekly.com/

For more information on Hautman Brother's Art www.hautman.com

Badlands and Black Hills

2010-10-15T17:08:00.003-04:00

Bison photo, Badlands, South Dakota

Young Bison

oil on canvas

12 x 12

sold

I just returned from an excursion out to the Badlands and the Black Hills of South Dakota. October is a great time to go because there is almost no one around and the weather can be quintessential "Indian Summer"; though one person I ran into said last year at this time there was a foot of snow.... I saw a lot of Bison, singles and in huge herds. It is a thrill to be out hiking and come upon these wild beasts.

Fall Art Show - Thanks!

2010-10-06T11:38:00.004-04:00

Here is a photo of me and my work at the show last weekend. We were set up in a renovated late 1800's timber frame barn, which was pretty cool. The weather was cooperative, a good thing because there was no heat! Thank you to all who came and to all who sent good thoughts my way - the show went really well.

Fall Art Show

2010-09-25T14:51:00.002-04:00

The text is a bit small - please click on an image to make it larger. I hope to see you at the show, it is beautiful along the river and bluffs at this time of the year!

Dark Clouds

2010-09-20T15:20:00.003-04:00

Charcoal on Paper

15" x 20"

sold

I have been sort of obsessed with charcoal this summer, it feels so direct and physical to work with. My last 12 pieces have all been of trees and sky, the transition or meeting of the two... some thought tracks are: earth/sky; body/soul; grounded/free; limited/infinite. Another track is that I am always looking at the tree branches to see birds, and cannot help but love the silhouette and pattern of branches against sky, on a purely sensate level.

"The frothing of the hedges

I keep deep inside of me."

- Jean Wahl

Scott Olson invention

2010-09-14T17:59:00.000-04:00

Last week I stopped by my friend Scott Olson's place to see what he was up to. Scott is an athlete and inventor - here is a short video of one of his latest ideas. I got to try it out and it is a blast! The working title is Sky Bike, unfortunately that has already been spoken for and he is looking for ideas for a new name. If anyone has any thoughts let us know. scottolson.com.

Prairie sunset

2010-09-01T16:51:00.005-04:00

I went for a sunset walk up in the prairie last evening. Most of the grasses are well over my head now, and some of the big bluestem is 8-9 feet tall!

I have been working on an artists statement in preparation for the upcoming show. I think most artists would agree it is an incredibly difficult thing to write. I came upon this statement by artist Joshua Bronaugh that really intrigued me:

"I love having bruises that I can touch throughout the day to instigate memory.

Sometimes the bruise is a broken lip; sometimes exhaustion; sometimes the way light falls on skin.

Painting is touching the bruise."

Cows

2010-08-24T14:21:00.003-04:00

oil on canvas

10 x 10"

available

I have been going through my work getting pieces ready for the Fall Fresh Art tour - www.freshart.org. A friend came over this morning to help, and we came upon this piece I had done during my last southwest trip. It is a piece I hadn't thought much about, but she really liked it - it is interesting to look through someone else's eyes - so I will include it in the show.

I have also been looking at Gerhard Richter's work and reading his words. He is an artist who I think very successfully straddles doing work that is sensual and beautiful, yet also has a conceptual component, however subliminal.

"One has to believe in what one is doing, one has to commit oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once obsessed, one ultimately carries it to the point of believing that one might change human beings through painting. But if one lacks this passionate commitment, there is nothing left to do. Then it is best to leave it alone. For basically painting is total idiocy."

- Gerhard Richter

Fawn

2010-08-15T16:35:00.003-04:00

sold

I have been working on an ongoing series of animal studies. This work is influenced by the photos of Edward Curtis, a photographer known for his sepia prints of Native Americans and The West as it was before and during the big move of "civilization" westward.

This quote by poet Mark Doty really struck me:

"Seeing and feeling are not contradictory things; It's through the surface that we get to the core. Looking outward and looking inward can happen at once. A painting, like a poem, is a meeting ground between the interiority of the artist and the surface of the world..."

Hosta Interior IX

2010-08-02T12:49:00.002-04:00

oil on canvas

10 x 10

available

I painted this hosta in the spring when they were still unfurling in their young greenness. I look out the window now and see the green of late summer, tinged with ochre, kaki, lilac.

I keep coming upon references to this guy's writings in other books I'm reading. I think I need to dig into his work and see what's there...

"The desire to keep learning so that we can dispel old mysteries while giving birth to new mysteries that draw us forward - a quiet passion burns, not for total control, but for the sensation of constant advance."

E.O. Wilson

Water Study - Lake Waconia

2010-07-27T12:52:00.004-04:00

Charcoal on paper

11 x 14

I love the abstract quality of water, the way blobs of light and color break away and re-form. One of my favorite things to do is go canoeing; it is a great way to be quiet and intimate with nature, to be able to go places that would otherwise be out of reach. Living in Minnesota I am surrounded by lakes, ponds, rivers, swamps.... As much as I have been avoiding news of the gulf oil spill, it's hard to avoid that painful reality. I guess I have been thinking of water, vulnerability, transience.

Full Bloom

2010-07-19T13:40:00.003-04:00

The prairie is in full bloom! If anyone wants to come out for a prairie walk, let me know.

FYI - I will not be having my annual Fall show/sale at my studio this year. Instead I will be participating in the Fresh Art Fall Tour, down by Lake Pepin, WI. I will be a guest artist at Barbara McIlrath's studio. The dates are October 1,2,3, and I will be mailing out brochures in September. It is spectacular on the Mississippi River Bluffs at that time of year, I think it will be a fun event. If anyone is not sure if they are on my mailing list or if you want to be added, e-mail me your information. Thanks!

Sedge Wren Nest

2010-07-13T12:25:00.002-04:00

I found this beautiful little sculpture next to a mowed trail in the prairie..... a sedge wren nest with three eggs. Unfortunately it has been abandoned because of the mowing - I hate that! But on the bright side, there are many other wrens nesting where a few years ago there was a cornfield. An old bur oak - 200 yrs. ? That I could see from my studio window has come down in a recent storm. This tree had been a favorite perch for many a raptor and song-bird; it will be sorely missed.

Barrow, Alaska

2010-07-05T15:33:00.006-04:00

Charcoal on Paper

11 x 15

Ever since I returned from Alaska I have been playing around with charcoal, something I have never really used before. Thanks to friend Holly Swift for her help and to artist Kathy Hodge, kathyhodge.com, who I know only via internet and who generously gave me advice; there's more to it than I thought! Trying to find paper that feels right to me is my first task. I am wondering if this paper is too grainy....

I came across a concept that really struck me. In the Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard talks about Intimacy in Immensity - the possibility that a work (painting, poem, music, etc.) can induce a person to have the experience of vastness that feels in proportion to his/her inner expansiveness. Every time I read that I get tingly!

Prairie, two months after burn

2010-06-28T12:34:00.002-04:00

The grasses are over my knees now and there are lots of buds forming on the flowers - I think it will be an amazing bloom. I have been going through my Alaska photos and bemoaning the fact that I did not take more. The camera gets between you and the experience; I was too busy looking, absorbing, feeling. I wish I had a video of the red phalarope spinning! And the landscape - I felt a strong resonance with my own inner scape, and I have been working on drawings of the tundra and pack ice. More reference would be good....

Starting July, I will be mentoring artist Emily Lynch for a year. This mentorship is funded by a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board. Check out Emily's great work on her new blog:

emily-lynch-artwork.blogspot.com. Emily is a wonderful artist and an enthusiastic, motivated person - I am sure I will get as much out of this year as she does!

Alaska

2010-06-21T18:04:00.007-04:00

Two days before the summer solstice (which is tonight) found me across the arctic circle, at Point Barrow, the northern most spot in America. It was midnight with the full summer sun shining down, and a polar bear ambling towards us, about 200 yards out. It may have been my closest experience to the sublime.

photo 1 - I was with a great group of birders lead by fieldguides.com, a birding tour company that I highly recommend. Here we are looking out at the pack ice towards the North Pole.

photo 2 - Barrow landscape

photo 3 - Polar Bear

photo 4 - Long tail duck

" It is the transience of gale birds, their seeming frailty in the toils of wind and sea, that stirs me most. To see a lone petrel arc across some desolate reach of ocean, as fleeting as the spray blown from the wave crests, is to risk innumerable intuitions of mortal solitude and transcience, ones own swift passage towards the void." - Peter Matthiessen

Marsh

2010-06-07T09:11:00.003-04:00

oil on board

6 x 8"

available

This is the view out my studio window, earlier this spring. On a day too cold to be out painting I stood inside and painted it in comfort. I won't be able to post for a couple of weeks.... I am going to Alaska! I am trying to have no preconceptions, but I am hoping to see lots of rare birds in breeding plumage; large, wild animals; and amazing landscapes.

Grain Tower, Bay City WI

2010-06-04T10:39:00.004-04:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

sold

I went to Chokio MN over the Memorial Day weekend. Chokio is my mother's home town, it is just a little west of Morris, MN, in the central farmlands. Along the way I studied and took photos of all the old grain towers that lie in the small towns along the rail road. I love the architecture and the simple shapes, the soft colors and the history. I have been thinking of doing a series of these buildings for a few years now, and this week I began doing small studies.

Frontenac Bluff Overlook

2010-05-24T18:52:00.002-04:00

sold

I have been outside painting whenever possible, trying to find my "sea legs" after a stretch of working in my studio. It is so different/difficult working out-doors! But there is nothing like it. This is a painting I did last year down by Lake Pepin.

" There were times when I could not afford to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment to any work, whether of the head or hands. I love a broad margin to my life." - Thoreau

Precisely!

Red Peony

2010-05-10T18:31:00.002-04:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

available

I have some hosta and peony paintings in a show at the Pepin Art and Design Center in Pepin, WI. The show runs from May 14 - June 17 . Have lunch or dinner at the Harbor View restaurant if you go, it's fantastic!

Prairie burning

2010-05-04T19:30:00.000-04:00

Morels

2010-05-04T17:47:00.002-04:00

I found these last week out in our woods, all under one tree! It has been a great morel spring, early warmth, not buggy, and enough rain. Wild ramps, asparagus, rhubarb and morels, how can anyone get any painting done? Oh, did I mention the warblers are back?

Before, After, During

2010-04-27T13:44:00.005-04:00

We burned 30 acres of our prairie last night! It was a spur of the moment ordeal, there has been a burning ban on in our county as it has been so dry this spring. I called the local fire-chief and he said they could do it if they lifted the ban. It rained this weekend, and Wade the chief called Sunday to say the ban was off and they would come out Monday evening and burn it as a training session. The photos don't do it justice. I will post a video soon. The firefighters did a great job! Note the moon in the last photo. I look forward to seeing the prairie develop this summer, already this morning we have had killdeer and horned larks on the charred field.

Greater sage grouse mating ritual

2010-04-22T18:25:00.000-04:00

Greater Sage Grouse

2010-04-22T18:00:00.006-04:00

This is a photo of a Greater Sage Grouse hunkering down in the grass. I just uploaded my video of Sage Grouse displaying on the lek in northern Colorado, see it above.

Cow study

2010-04-21T12:06:00.003-04:00

oil on canvas

12 x 16

available

I have been in Colorado this past week going to grouse leks and looking at birds and landscape. A lek is a patch of ground that a group of grouse will gather on to display and do their breeding rituals. I got a good video of Greater Sage Grouse strutting their stuff - it is too long for me to be able to post here, but I will try to upload it to youtube and post a link, it's pretty amazing what they do! I was fortunate to see Lesser Prairie Chickens and Gunnison Sage Grouse, both of which are endangered. The only down-side is the necessity of pre-dawn arrivals to the grounds, which made for very early wake-ups. The cow study is part on my on-going animal studies series. I used to work in clay a lot, and doing the burnt-umber sepia-tone painting reminded me of sculpting in terra-cotta. Often when I watch animals I feel as if they have an aura of calm surrounding them, something I rarely see in humans,

Pepin Bluffs

2010-04-07T11:45:00.004-04:00

12" x 12"

oil on canvas

available

This is a piece I did last spring in April, of the Wisconsin Bluff lands by Lake Pepin. I am looking around and see the same palette of muted grey-purples and yellows. Spring is upon us and the yard work is demanding attention - we already have some vegetables in, which is earlier than usual. No complaints.

Auspicious Goats

2010-03-24T09:55:00.004-04:00

sold

I have been doing animal studies for the past 6 months or so. I love the patterns on goats and their body shape and expression. Anyone who has spent time with goats knows how much personality they have!

(first stanza of) The Goat, by Umberto Saba

Ho parlato a una capra

Era sola sul prato, era legata.

Sazia d'erbe, bagnata

dalla pioggia, belava.

I have spoken with a goat.

She was alone in the meadow, tied to a post.

Satiated with grass and her coat

rain-sodden, she was bleating.

Why is this only thing I remember by heart after studying Italian for three years in college?

Fur-Peace

2010-03-15T10:47:00.003-04:00

Fur-Peace

10" x 10"

jute on board

This is the piece I have in the "Foor-in-the-Door" show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts - artsmia.org/foot-in-the-door-4/ . Some of you may not have seen my fiber work, all made of baling twine that I collect, discarded from farms and ranches. It is now getting harder to find, as most hayers now use plastic "twine". If anyone comes across some of the natural jute, I could really use more. I love using recycled material.

I am starting the second year of the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Project - mnbba.org. Any of you citizen-scientists who are interested in helping out and supporting conservation planning based on current, scientific information - they need volunteers! Check out the web-site. There are only 7 states that don't have this breeding bird information yet.

Cranes at Bosque Del Apache NWR

2010-03-07T11:58:00.003-05:00

I leave tomorrow morning..... mixed feelings. Here is video I took with very cold hands early morning on my way down here. I stopped at the the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge on the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

"The world is big, and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark." - John Muir

Cliffs, paint box

2010-03-02T13:02:00.004-05:00

This is a small 6 x 8 oil paint study I did last week. The view is looking up at the cliffs just down the canyon from where I am staying in the Chiricahuas Mountains. I included a photo of the new paint box I am using and liking very much. It is only 9 x 7 x 2.5 and fully loaded weighs less than 5 lbs. I can sling it over my shoulder, have everything I need for two small studies, and hike back in areas that it is difficult to drag a bunch of painting equipment around.

" Above on either side tower sheer cliffs, topped by crenellated battlements and groups of slender columns, while yawning caves, arches, and windows have been carved into the stone by centuries of wind, rain, frost, and melted snow. The rock, called rhiolite, is of volcanic origin and glows with soft shades of orange, pink, yellow, and deep salmon as if it had been dabbed by a giant paint brush." - Weldon Heald, The Chiricahuas Sky Island

Sycamore trees

2010-02-26T16:50:00.002-05:00

I have been walking through the canyons and looking up at the trees against the sky. Sycamore trees have creamy pale bark that stands out against the sky, and I have been doing many small watercolor negative-space studies of them. Negative space is the sky-space between the branches that makes abstract shapes, looking at this when working helps get you away from what you "think" you know about a tree, very freeing.

Also, The Foot-in the Door show is up at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, this is a once every ten year show open to any Minnesota artist. I have a piece in it, not a painting but a jute piece. It should be a fun show and I look forward to seeing it when I return.

Harris's Hawk, Dragoons

2010-02-22T13:01:00.003-05:00

First I have to make a correction about a previous post. The Rock indian head is Geronimo, not Cochise. Sorry! The top photo here is a Harris's Hawk that has landed ever so delicately on top of a saguaro and is keeping it's wings out to "test" the air. I was at the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson and I was fortunate to be there when they were doing a raptor demonstration. They let four Harris's Hawks fly; they are the only N. American accipiter that hunts cooperatively. It was an amazing thing to witness.

The second photo is of wild rock formations in the Dragoon Mountains where I went hiking last week. The hiking guide described them so: "The rock formations rise impressively as the trail climbs, resembling orderly stacks of tilted stone that were arranged by some forgotten giant."

Yesterday on my hike I saw a White-Nosed Coati in a tree - of course I did not have my camera!

"For the world is not to be narrowed till it will go into the understanding, but the understanding is to be expanded and opened till it can take in the image of the world."

- Francis Bacon

Granite Gap, Peloncillos

2010-02-14T13:12:00.003-05:00

The last couple of hikes have taken me to the Peloncillos (little baldies) and Granite Gap. This is a beautiful desert/mountain area with exotic rock formations. Desert Bighorn Sheep have been re-introduced here. I ran into the New Mexico Bighorn Sheep biologist who was radio tracking some sheep and he said he found four babies. I hiked all over hoping to spot them but never did. I did see a Ringtail though, a small cat-like creature with a huge ringed bushy tail. Makes it seem as if I am in another country!

"To inquire into the intricacies of a distant landscape, then, is to provoke thoughts about one's own interior landscape, and the familiar landscapes of memory. The land urges us to come around to an understanding of ourselves."

- Barry Lopez

Arizona

2010-02-08T12:35:00.002-05:00

After a brutal drive - freezing rain the second day and way too many consecutive hours sitting on my bum in the same position - I arrived to my little Arizona Cottage. Everyone asks me where I am, so: I am in the very southeast corner of AZ, in a tiny village called Portal, very close to Rodeo, NM, about 60 miles N. of Mexico. Because of the rough terrain, the sparse population, and the remoteness of the area, the illegal border traffic is becoming more of a problem. I spent three hours at a meeting last week with Border Patrol, local Police, politicians, and about 200 local people. I wanted to know more about the issue, living in Minnesota we are so removed from it.

The first photo is from a hike up to Silver Peak in the Chiricahuas. You don't see the head of Cochise on the way up, so on the descent is it quite a shock to look down and see this gigantic sculpture in front of you. The second photo is of a Javelina, or collared peccary. They are all over the village here, scavenging under bird feeders and such. Very cute!

Whippet Puppies

2010-01-29T14:10:00.003-05:00

I was going to post a painting but after seeing my sister's two-day old whippet puppies (I should say her dog Helen's puppies) I knew I had to share them! 5 little multi-colored softies.

I am leaving this weekend for my annual southwest sojourn. I plan to keep blogging so check back for art/trip updates.

Short Eared Owl

2010-01-19T10:29:00.003-05:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

sold

The birdxbird benefit auction will be held on Saturday, February 6, from 6-9 pm at the Northrup King Building in Minneapolis. This is a great art event and benefit for the birds - check out www.birdxbird.org . Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, but I will be submitting this painting of a short eared owl. Two years ago I saw my first short eared owl in the winter at Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area, which is just north of Minneapolis.

They are amazing creatures that fly low over fields and sloughs in search of food. A beautiful thing, to be standing in the twilight, in the dense silence of winter, with a dozen stealthy flyers gracing the darkening air.

My sister, Mary Logue, will also have one of her wonderful hooked wool pieces. I hope you can check it out and help the birds!

White Lilacs

2010-01-12T15:56:00.003-05:00

oil on canvas

11 x 14

sold

I have been busy with the "business" side of art - documenting, opportunity research, filing photos, looking into show possibilities for the upcoming year, and of course the perpetual studio organization. I am getting pieces ready for two shows - BirdXBird, and A Foot In the Door. I will post more about these shows soon, but for the meantime here is a painting that was in my home sale this Fall.

Burly Maple

2010-01-06T16:57:00.003-05:00

oil on canvas

10 x 12

available

This is a painting I did out in our woods this Fall. It's hard to remember green and warmth after all the cold and snow we've had! On a good note, the cross country skiing has been superb, I was just out making trails through the prairie and enjoying all the animal tracks. We have seven red-winged blackbirds that have been hanging around - they should be way down south by now, and I worry about them in this sub-zero weather. I just added a new web-site to my list of sites I like - my friend Sue does wonderful nature photography, you can see her work at suecoller.com.

Blue Moon

2010-01-02T10:28:00.003-05:00

I talked with a friend on the east coast the first day of the year, she was distraught because the moon had been obscured on New Year's eve. I thought I would post a couple photos I took of the "Blue Moon" from our farm that night.

Blue Moon: The second full moon occurring in a month.

New Year's resolution: Read more poetry!

Here are a few poems from the wonderful book The Ink Dark Moon, love poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan.

Watching the moon

at dawn,

solitary, mid-sky,

I knew myself completely,

no part left out. - Izumi Shikibu

Where

are you hurrying to?

You will see

the same moon tonight

wherever you go! - Izumi Shikibu

Nothing

in the world

is usual today.

This is

the first morning. - Izumi Shikibu

Prairie after Snow

2009-12-20T14:27:00.002-05:00

I just returned from a hike through the prairie, it is beautiful with snow-caps on the grasses. Above is a photo I took. The other day I was out in the prairie looking across the tawny-ochre swatch on a still day. Something caught my eye and I looked but saw nothing. I kept looking and finally I detected very slight movement at the top of some grass, still I couldn't make anything out. Then two little tawny colored points poked up about an inch above the grass and I could make out the tips of Buck antlers! It held still for a few moments then the antlers slowly sunk out of sight.

This photo will have to fill in for the Holiday cards that I did not get out this year -

Happy Holidays to all and thank you all for your support through the year!

A photo, a painting, a poem

2009-11-30T12:19:00.004-05:00

North Shore Rocks

oil on board

6 x 8

available

A photo of me painting at the North Shore of Lake Superior last month. Thank you my friend and fellow painter, Barbara McIlrath, for taking my photo unbeknownst to me. A small rock study I did of the shore, wet and dry rocks. And finally, a poem by my sister Mary. She has a beautiful new book of poetry out, published by Mid-List press. It's titled Hand Work.

Turner's Paintings

It's all about light,

how it glances off water,

gets caught up in mist,

careens around objects,

tumbles through clouds.

Yes, I know there are ships,

but they are only there

to give the light

reason.

Three Tide-Pools

2009-11-17T11:37:00.002-05:00

10 x 10

oil on canvas

available

"What artists are peculiarly equipped to know because they experience it everyday in the studio; that is, no matter how skillfully and knowledgeably they organize... elements of a work - in painting these would be composition, imagery, color, space, drawing, brushwork - a picture will not necessarily catch fire, come alive".

- Fairfield Porter

Rocky Coast

2009-11-09T15:07:00.003-05:00

8 x 8

oil on canvas

available

Here is another North Shore/Lake Superior piece that I did this Fall. I am very happy to report that our little screech owl is once again in its hole out in our woods (I posted a photo of it last Spring). This is the 5th year in a row now that it has made our woods its winter home.

Violet Tide-Pools

2009-11-03T17:38:00.002-05:00

6 x 8

oil on canvas

available

I finally did some image scanning today and now have some of my North Shore pieces documented. I was really captivated by the tide pools, by their transience and luminosity against the rocks. The weather was cold and often windy out by the water so the work had to be done quickly, with a thermos of hot tea handy!

Peony V

2009-10-27T18:46:00.002-04:00

6 x 8

oil on canvas

sold

I want to thank everyone who came to my Fall Show/Sale this past Sunday. In spite of not the best weather, we had a good turn-out and I hope a nice time was had by all. After preparing for the show for the past couple of weeks, today was spent circling around my studio, trying to figure out where I left off...

Barn and Field

2009-10-22T09:48:00.004-04:00

oil on paper

6 x 8

sold

Just a reminder that our Fall show and sale is happening this Sunday at our farm in Delano, from 1 -5 pm. Everyone is welcome! My sister and niece will again have their wonderful botanical hand-dyed scarves, and my sister-in-law Lely will have beaded jewelry and other creations. Hope to see you there.

Peony with petals

2009-10-07T19:52:00.002-04:00

6 x 8

oil on canvas

available

I am going up to the North Shore of Minnesota on Lake Superior for a week with some painter friends of mine. We have been discussing how to stay warm while painting outside, as the weather will most likely be in the low 40's, and we all are planning on gathering information from outdoors to inform our winter work. I just hope it doesn't snow!

Deep Woods

2009-09-26T18:46:00.002-04:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

available

This piece just got sent off to the Miniature Invitational show at the Accola Gallery. The show runs from October 6 - November 7.

Hosta Interior

2009-09-13T15:30:00.002-04:00

15 x 24

oil on canvas

available

Save the Date!

My Fall show/sale will be happening on Sunday, October 25, from 1 - 5 pm.

My sister Mary and niece Juliette will again have their beautiful hand-dyed botanical scarves, and my sister-in-law Lely Beitner will have beaded jewelry and other beaded creations.

I will post more as the date draws nearer, everyone is invited.

The photo of this hosta painting looks really light on my computer. If it looks light on yours, in reality it is quite saturated. (I wasn't able to scan this like I usually do because of the size.)

My Prairie

2009-09-06T13:51:00.004-04:00

8 x 16

oil on canvas

sold

What I want most

is to spring out of this personality,

then to sit apart from that leaping.

I've lived too long where I can be reached.

- Rumi

Peony Buds II

2009-08-31T10:26:00.004-04:00

6 x 8

oil on canvas

sold

"Concision in art is a necessity as well as an elegance; a man who is concise makes you think, a verbose man bores you." -Manet

Today I cleaned out all the bluebird houses. Here is the tally:

tree swallow nests - 6

wren nests - 3

mice currently living in - 2

broken - 3

bluebirds - 0

Rain over Lake Pepin

2009-08-24T10:13:00.004-04:00

8 x 8

oil on canvas

sold

I painted this in June when I went to stay at my sister's house down by Lake Pepin. There is a beautiful piece of bluff land which has been put in a land trust so everyone can enjoy it, and that's my destination whenever I'm visiting. It was drizzling as I hoisted my backpack and trudged out a couple miles to this view that I wanted to paint. I sat on the ground tucked under a red cedar right at the edge of a cliff looking across at the next bluff and the lake. A magical place.

Prairie photos and video

2009-08-19T12:48:00.006-04:00

The prairie is in its third growing season this summer. After a couple of agonizing years of mowing, spraying, battling thistle, disturbing birds, and watching nothing but weeds come up, we are now enjoying! Long morning walks with the bugs and birds, listening to the grasses whisper.

Another bad swift video

2009-08-17T11:43:00.005-04:00

Another swift going down. This one can be seen at the very end.

Sorry the quality is so bad, they were done using my itsy bitsy digital camera.

There will be another swift-sit the weekend of September 11-13, for more info. check out

mn.audobon.org/events.

chimney swift

2009-08-17T10:40:00.004-04:00

Last weekend my sister and I participated in a Chimney Swift count that is happening throughout Minnesota. We had to sit for a half hour before and after sunset and watch and count how many swifts went down the chimney. This Chimney is on the abandoned house that sits in the middle of our prairie. The swifts have been nesting here for the last few summers; they are on a national decline as good nesting spots are becoming harder for them to find. We counted 6 swifts. Some places had in the hundreds! Check out the video - watch quick, it shoots down right away... I have been looking at this and now I think that the swift just ducks behind the chimney and doesn't go down! But the first video it definitely drops in.

Hidden Peony

2009-08-09T17:44:00.002-04:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

available

I have tried 4 times to download a video of a walk through the prairie... I'm having no success. It's cool because the grasses are up over my shoulders and there are many flowers in bloom. I will keep trying. Here is another Peony I painted this Spring.

Peony Blossoms

2009-08-02T14:01:00.004-04:00

oil on canvas

6 x 8

sold

The Minnesota Arboretum has a beautiful peony garden. I went there many times this summer and this study came out of one of those visits.

On a different note, I just returned from a week birding in Big Bend, Texas. Spectacular landscape! The temperature was up around 105 daily...

Hosta Interior VIII

2009-07-22T14:30:00.004-04:00

oil on canvas

12x12

sold

After two months off I am starting to blog again. I have been working on flora, landscapes, and some new ideas. While painting my hosta pieces, I have these words up on my wall next to where I paint:

green earth

nature opening

intimacy life/death

interior/exterior lush

deep shadowy

murky cultivation

fragmentation fertile

hybrid selection

contemplation moist

yin/yang

Lake Pepin Art and Design Center Show

2009-06-21T11:18:00.003-04:00

I just returned from the Lake Pepin area where I helped with the hanging of this show. The show is really fabulous and I recommend anyone visiting the area to stop by the gallery. Check out the web site, pepinartdesign.org. I have a couple of pieces in it and there are about 15 other artists. The Poster image is sort of small but that's me on the left in the straw hat, painting out in Hick's Valley outside of Pepin, WI. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Hosta Interior VII

2009-05-19T15:29:00.004-04:00

oil on canvas

8" x 8"

sold

I am working on hosta paintings again. I feel like the paring down of elements to one color (green) one subject (hosta) has opened up a whole world of possibilities and excitement, an implosion.

A year ago on June 1st I posted the first painting on my Blog. My plan is to take the summer off - from blogging - not painting! I will resume again in September. There is a possibility that I will have another Fall studio show/sale here at the farm with a couple of other artists, I will post something more about that in early September. If anyone is interested in a studio visit please e-mail me and we can set up an appointment.

Happy Summer!

East Turkey Creek

2009-04-26T18:03:00.004-04:00

8 x 10

oil on canvas

available

This is the last piece I did when I was in the Southwest. East turkey Creek flows through the village of Paradise, and it is beautiful! I am so caught up in Spring - planting the vegetable garden, trying to get outdoors to paint, working on the breeding bird atlas (the site is working now, if anyone is interested in checking it out mnbba.org). I may be a bit patchy with my posting for awhile.

"Into the silence, which was at times also a roar, of my thoughts and questions forever returning to myself to search there for an explanation of my life and its purpose, into this concentrated tiny hub of dense silent noise, came the cackle of a hen from a nearby back garden, and at that moment that cackle, its distinct sharp-edged existence beneath a blue sky with white clouds, induced in me an intense awareness of freedom. The noise of the hen, which I could not even see, was an event in a field which until then had been awaiting a first event in order to become itself realisable. I knew in that field I could listen to all sounds, all music."

- John Berger "The Field"

Making Maple Syrup

2009-04-14T11:23:00.003-04:00

This photo was taken a few weeks ago when we were boiling down sap to make syrup. We got about 4 gallons of syrup this year - it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. It's a bit of work keeping the fire going. Our friend Scott Olson and his daughter Maddie came out to help on this day. Scott's Prius in the background has one of his inventions on top, a Row-Bike. Check out www.rowbike.com.

I have been very busy lately with the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Project, which is a 4-year project to map all the breeding birds in Minnesota and their ranges. If you are interested in checking it out or in volunteering go to www.mnbba.org.