Our Plan A
was to host a large family gathering at our house this weekend. However, the
weather has proved otherwise and now we are totally in Plan B. Our son, Jack, flew in from Seattle for the Thanksgiving
weekend, but so far he’s remain stormed in with his brother’s family in
Farmington, MN. We are thankful that they are all safe, but we’re realizing now that we
may miss his whole visit to Minnesota and Wisconsin! And our daughter and her
family were planning to come to Big Blake Lake today, but the ongoing snowstorms have shut
down roads and made travel in our area hazardous. We are missing them all but
our plans now include days filled with shoveling snow, enjoying the fireplace, watching
Hallmark movies, finishing our Christmas decorating, and painting snowy landscapes!
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Snowy Days
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
North Shore Birch
One of my
favorite sights is seeing beautiful Birch trees mingled with Pine trees in a
wooded area. The light bark (I just learned about a year ago that for artists, Birch trees
aren’t really white) stands in wonderful contrast to the deep green of surrounding Fir trees. We happen to have a couple of great Birch stands near our house and
after the storm came through this summer, we realized it was the birch trees that
survived. S0 to replace lost trees, we planted three more Birch trees in our yard
before the end of the season.
This Fall,
one of my favorite North Shore photographers, Jan Swart, took a series of Birch
trees photos in the area around Finland, Minnesota, and she granted me permission
to paint one of her pictures. This week’s painting, Birch Bark, 11” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures the light shining on a
Birch tree on a blue-sky fall day in the Northwoods.
See more art on my website at www.wildriverarts.com
Friday, November 15, 2019
Watching Clouds
I’m
registered to take a series of painting classes from Paul Oman, a nationally
recognized artist, who lives near Amery, WI! The classes are scheduled for
three Thursdays in January and February at artZ Gallery in Amery, and I’m so
looking forward to learning and applying new techniques to my watercolor
paintings. You can register on the Events page at artZ Gallery or on
Paul’s website at Paul Oman
Fine Art
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Seascape
One of my Mom’s
favorite songs is “Galway Bay.” Made famous by the late crooner, Bing Crosby, and
featured in one of my favorite movies, “The Quiet Man,” the first verse goes like
this:
If you ever go
across the sea to Ireland
Then maybe at the closing of your day
You will sit and watch the moonrise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.
Then maybe at the closing of your day
You will sit and watch the moonrise over Claddagh
And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.
This week’s
painting celebrates the end of a beautiful day on the Atlantic Ocean off the west
coast of Ireland. “Seascape,” an 11” x 15” watercolor painting, captures the
setting sun on a rocky shoreline along Galway Bay.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Little Brown Church
A favorite
memory growing up was hearing the story of my parent’s wedding. My mom, at
almost 19, and Dad, barely 20, gathered on a blizzardy November day with their parents
and two friends as witnesses at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa. The
only two photos I can recall of this occasion are a slightly grainy photo
picturing the two of them standing side by side at the front of the church and the
other showing them at a family reception at my grandparent’s farmhouse. Yet the
bond held and before Dad died in 2014, they celebrated 62 years of
marriage. The marriage survived and thrived in moves from the Iowa cornfields
to army training at Camp Roberts, California, to the campus of Iowa State in
Ames, Iowa, as students on the GI bill, to work and life in St. Paul,
Stillwater and Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota.
This week’s
painting is a tribute to my folks, Dale and Jan Stull, and their sweet Little
Brown Church, 8” x 11” on 300 lb. watercolor paper. The church became
well-known through the song “The Church in the Wildwood” written by Dr. William S.
Pitts in 1857. Today this special place is still known as “the little
brown church in the vale.”
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