Polar Vortex and Penny

We are officially experiencing a polar vortex – have we ever even heard this phrase before?! It’s an amazing phenomenon of plummeting temperatures and record lows. So far, it’s been in the minus 30 and 40 degree range with windchill adding another minus 20 degrees on to that! You know we are into something out of the ordinary when school administrators across the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin make a blanket decision on Monday morning to close all schools for the rest of the week! In the Land of Rare Snow Days, this is incredible. We are in a corporate freeze out – urged to keep our homes at about 60 degrees, dress in layers and make sure all family members and animals stay inside!

In spite of this, it looks like a balmy summer evening on my easel. Dear family members commissioned me to paint a picture of their much-loved horse named Penny. This week’s painting, Penny, is 8” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, and captures this beautiful horse walking across their prairie pasture.

Gentle Spirits

I found a photo of a dear grandson and thought it would be such fun to paint. His mom grew up on her family farm in western Minnesota, and our grandson, now 3, loves everything about this farm – being outdoors, riding in his grandpa’s tractor and combine, and going down to the pasture to visit with the beloved horses.

It was a process to paint this subject, though. To get the horses right, I used Paul Oman’s technique of drawing everything upside down. Turning the photo and the sketch book upside down literally confuses the brain and makes it much easier to just draw lines and shapes. In the end, it’s amazing how much the sketch looks like the actual photograph.

This week’s painting, Gentle Spirits, is an 8” x 9” watercolor. In a high compliment, our grandson's mom thought the painting perfectly captured the gentle spirit of her childhood horses.

September Swaths

I so enjoy the adventure of painting! For much of my art, I gain inspiration from a special scene or favorite photograph and the process, depending on the complexity of the picture, can be an interesting journey – selecting the photo, determining values (shadows and light), sketching the scene on paper, and then moving the brush from water to paint to paper. And while I start each painting enthusiastically, about halfway through the painting, I have a brief spasm of doubt – this is usually when I whine to Paul that it looks horrible, I’m on the verge of creating mud and this whole thing is not going to work! He listens to the rant, tells me to get back to work and as I relax, continue to move forward and “trust the brush,” suddenly the potential of the painting begins to emerge. It’s this wonderful element of discovery and surprise that makes painting so rewarding.

This week’s painting is a favorite of two rustic buildings, seemingly forgotten, except by the farmer swathing hay in the nearby field. “September Swaths” is a 6” x 12” painting on 300 lb. watercolor paper. See more on the website at www.wildriverarts.com.

Plan now to make a trip in February to the artZ Gallery in Amery, WI! I’ll be one of the feature artists for the month-long “Feb-Hue-Ary” exhibit. The gallery is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and the Artists Reception will be held on Friday, February 8, from 5-8 p.m. Join us for this evening of visiting with the artists and enjoying hors d’oeuvres.

Northern Light

It seems a good time to go back to the lighthouses. There is something so special about these structures. Yes, they are built for a specific utilitarian purpose – to warn ships, save lives and protect the cargo, and this purpose demands that they be constructed in some of the most inaccessible, rugged and desolate locations on earth. The stories of their construction are often legendary with suppliers and workers overcoming huge obstacles and literally risking life and limb to accomplish their tasks. While it is basically a structure to house a huge spiral stairway, lighthouses embody the best scientific technology and architectural advances of their time. And people travel from far and near just to take in one more look at their favorite lights. It is one of our all-time favorite roadtrip pastimes – finding a new-to-us, undiscovered light for our travel journal!

This week’s painting, Northern Light, 11” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, strives to capture the remote landscape of a working lighthouse - and one that is still living its purpose of providing safe passage for sea-going ships.

R253 Cottage

I’m getting ready for a month-long exhibit at the artZ Gallery in Amery, WI, beginning February 1, 2019. As a featured artist, my plan is to have at least 20 new paintings ready for the display. It’s a challenge that I’m enjoying so far, but in order for Paul to have time to frame them, these need to be done by January 15! So far, I think I’m on track – and as you can probably guess, the core of the paintings seem to be reflecting special landmarks from our recent trip to Ireland. In our daily jaunts around Donegal County, one of our favorite drives was a wonderful winding, rural road called R253.

This week’s painting, R253 Cottage, 6” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects a lovely thatched cottage along this beautiful road and nestled in the hollow of an immense rocky outcrop. It’s a typical Irish sight – the current cottage with its bright trim paint is still connected to the historic ruin. For more information 0n upcoming exhibits, check out the artZ Gallery website at www.artzgallery.org.  

Sun Smack

After a long spell of gray days, we embraced a weekend of warm sunshine. And in the midst of all that sunshine, we celebrated Christmas with our families. We missed my mom – she’s recovering from a fierce cold – but the rest of us, moms and dads and 11 grandkidsies gathered at our house for the event. I love having everyone over and it’s such a treat to have a chance to spend a bit of time with each of our lovely grown children and grandkids. We think Author Garrison Keillor said it best in his book: “Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”  Amen to that! The weather this year has produced wonderful ice on the lake in front of our house, so part of the day was spent lacing up skates and enjoying the outdoors. Even with a fairly stiff wind blowing out of the south and with skaters ranging from 3 to 40 years, it was such fun to see them developing their skills and having such a great time.

This week’s painting, Sun Smack, 10” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reminded me of the joy of seeing the sun peek through a cloudbank on an overcast day in Ireland. The brilliant sunray briefly highlighted a section of the beautiful emerald green countryside. For more information, see my website at www.wildriverarts.com