Vincent Van Gogh

I enjoyed reading the new biography of Vincent Van Gogh by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.  It took the authors ten years to research and write the 900+ page book.  It was a sad but a life affirming story.  His death at age 37 followed by the death of his brother Theo six months later ended a remarkable tale of sorrow. The paintings remain an unmatched joy in the history of art.

Mark Ostapchuk

There is an excellent exhibit of abstract paintings by Mark Ostapchuk in the MAEP Gallery of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  It's rare to see beautiful, interesting abstract work.  The colors are so rich. Congratulations to this local artist.  It's up until April 1, I can't wait to see them again.

It inspired me to paint this titled "Woven Wall Hanging".

George Morrison

George Morrison told his life story to Margot Fortunato Galt in the book Turning the Feather Around.  He is one of my favorite visual artists.  He was inspired by Lake Superior.  "I saw the seasons coming this year.  Here on the lake, it's so temperate and it's so rich.  Every moment the horizon is present.  The horizon has been an obsession with me for most of my life...  I think of the horizon line as the edge of the world, the dividing line between water and sky, color and texture...  From the horizon, you go beyond the edge of the world to the sky and, beyond that, to the unknown.  I always imagine that I am there.  I like to imagine it is real."

There was a wonderful solo exhibit at the Minnesota Museum of American Art:  Horizon: Small Painting Series, 1980-1987.  The many paintings, only about 6" x 14", were masterpieces.  All referenced the sky, water and shore of Lake Superior.  Always the horizon line about one quarter of the way down from the top.  I never thought such small paintings could be so powerful.

Reservoir Woods Park

There is a secret forest in Roseville.  The 120 park is home to a new water reservoir for St. Paul and a nice stand of red pine trees.  After taking a walk there, I decided to paint an impression of the tall, straight pines trees.

Road Trip

A visit to the 1968 exhibit at the Minnesota History Center got me thinking about what I was doing back then. In 1968 I was living in Colorado Springs. I remember the drive from Colorado Springs up to the Denver airport to pick up a copy of the New York Times. My friend, Peter Lehmann, had grown up in New York City and couldn't stand to be without the Sunday Times. In 1968 you couldn't get the New York Times Sunday edition until Monday afternoon in Colorado Springs. Well, this necessitated what would become the weekly trip to Denver to get the paper. The first car I owned was a 1960 VW beetle (the little yellow buggy). It had a 36 hp engine, no gas gauge and a wooden 2x4 for a back bumper. It did have a reserve tank if you ran out of gas, so you could just turn the valve under the dashboard and you had another gallon to get to the nearest gas staion. On these weekly trips to the airport Peter seemed to be fortified by drinking strong Medaglio D'Oro coffee and smoking unfiltered French Gaulois cigarettes. This car also made a memorable trip to Chicago with Peter. We had to post bail at the Cook County jail for Terry Miller who had been arrested for protesting during the Democratic National Convention. As my short term memory is diminishing, my recollection of events 44 years ago seems to becoming more vivid.

Duluth

We drove up to Duluth, MN on Hwy 23. Along the way we stopped to harvest winterberry to decorate fall pots and vases. The fall colors were beautiful. Lake Superior, our inland sea, was beautiful. The wild rice burger at Fitger's was great. A perfect day to enjoy life.

Grand Marais Plein Air Painting Exhibition

I will have three paintings on exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais from September 2 - 25.

Art Perchance at the MIA

On Thursday, August 18 from 6 -9 pm the Friends of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts are having a fun fund raiser for public school programs at the museum. It's a chance for one and all to play carnival games in hopes of winning tickets for an opportunity to win a work of art donated by artists like me. This years "prize" painting is 24" x 18", in a nice vintage frame and titled "Old-fashioned Flowers". So if you make a contribution of $10 and get lucky you will be a winner. Then you can tuck it under your arm and take it home.

Spring St. Paul Art Crawl

St. Paul Art Crawl Fall 2010

I had fun with my first time participating in the St. Paul Art Crawl. I was on the sixth floor of the Rossmor Building. I was pleased with my sales and Robin also sold three of her "penny rug" table runners.

Painting in Paradise

We had fun during the first week of September

in Grand Marais, Minnesota. I participated in the 8th annual plein Air Painting Competition & Exhibition. It looks nice, but it was cold and windy the morning I went out on Artist's Point to paint this "seascape". Chris Faust, a photographer from St. Paul, wandered over to take this panorama view of this beautiful spot. The wind was blowing off of the land from the northwest out onto the lake so there weren't any waves rolling in. The wind did catch my canvas panel and blow it off of my easel into the water. I quickly retrieved it and saved it from being a lost paintwreck at the bottom of east bay.

Duluth, Minnesota

We had fun up along the shores of Lake Superior this weekend. Summer... 75 degrees... a cool breeze off the lake...this makes for a perfect day.

Art Perchance

On Thursday, August 19, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm come to the free event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts called Art Perchance. The outdoor Target Park will become a midway where participants can, feast and frolic - and vie for a chance to win art that's been donated by artists like me.

Minnesota State Fair

I feel fortunate that my painting titled Lake Superior has been accepted into the 2010 Fine Arts Exhibition at the Minnesota State Fair. The Fair runs from August 26 - September 6.

Brighton Beach

This is a view of Brighton Beach near Duluth, MN.

Trip to South Shore of Lake Superior

We had a great time staying at a friend's cabin along the south shore of Lake Superior on Bark Point near Herbster, WI. This is the view of the lake from the front porch of Stacey and Tim's cabin.

Edina Dunn Bros Art Show

I will be having a show of painting at the Edina Dunn Bros coffee shop during the month of June.

Painting Mentorship

I had fun doing a mentorship with a high school senior student interested in landscape plein air painting. We had great weather and each did a painting of this view of the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.

Foot in the Door

Robin and I are participating in the Foot in the Door exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Robin's is Collecting Color, old crayons in a linotype drawer. Richard's is a painting called All the Same, but Different.

Painting at Dunn Bros on East Lake Street

I'm having a show at the Dunn Bros Coffee Store on East Lake St. next to the Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis during the month of October. Some old and some new paintings.