Kelley Gallery Mini Show 2009-Who's on the cover?

I just received a copy of the program for this year's Mini Show. The paintings are really lovely, and include mostly still life and landscape. I looked for work from those artists I know, and checked out the paintings I liked best. I noticed a friend has one of her pieces on the cover! Good work! Then I looked again. One of my paintings is on the cover!

The show ends Oct 25, so hurry to check the website and see what you love!

Plein air Intensive Workshop Day 5

Rain today. We had been blessed by such fabulous weather, but painting outside in the rain is not the pastel artist's favorite thing. Plan B was a space in the local rec center. There we could work on pieces we had started on other days, or start a new piece. Hmmm. Some still lifes were set up, others looked out the window. I checked the views out the windows, and decided on a little apple tree growing nearby. I liked the sweep of the tree's branches with it's gift of little red apples.

Plein air Intensive Workshop Day 4

Rocks. More rocks today. Lakeshore rocks and river rocks. I must be learning something, though, as the river rock piece turned out well! I looked hard for a group of rocks against the water with some sun. Not asking too much. And I worked at it, darks to lights, and added the calligraphic cracks. It was fun! I look forward to doing more rock paintings.

Kelley Gallery Mini Show 2009

I am pleased to have three paintings included in this year's Kelley Gallery Mini Show, now through the month of October.

A small canvas can have great impact and make a space more beautiful. See for yourself! You may visit the gallery in Woodbury, or see the paintings on line: http://www.kelleygalleries.com

Plein air Intensive Workshop Day 3

Another beautiful day for us to paint outside en plein air in our mentoring class with Albert Handell. We go to Lutsen Resort for the whole day. The resort on the shore of Lake Superior offers a beautiful beach, gardens, a unique building, hiking trails, covered bridges, and the reason we have come, a river with some spectacular falls.

There are views of the river from one of the bridges as well as from the rocky outcroppings along the river. We are accompanied by the roar of the rushing water as we paint. Rocks and rushing water are difficult subjects for me. I set up on the rocks and set to work. The water is surprisingly much darker than the rocks, and is a rich brown, colored by tannins in the water. Careful observation shows green and purple, reflections of the trees and sky. The foam of the churning falls is root-beer colored. Do I have a root-beer colored pastel?

Again we work from 9 until about 4, with a break for lunch in the resort's dining room (excellent walleye sandwich). I learned a lot from the work with rocks and water. My painting partner finished a piece on later date at this spot that won first place in the Grand Marais Plein Air Festival.