Larson's General

Old Trempealeau 8x10 oil

Join me in my creative journey along the Mighty Mississippi. So many places to discover and paint. Here are just a few of my favorite spots, hope you can make it down to Larson's General on 5th and Main Street in La Crosse to see my display in person for August. 

Inquiries cshoreartwork@gmail.com

I'll be part of the August First Fridays Art Walk from 4-7, Friday August 5. Thanks again to River City Gallery and Larson's General for supporting the arts. 

Larson's General is a mom and pop shop that offers earth friendly products. www.larsonsgeneral.com

French Island Retreat 8x10 oil

Brady's Bluff 8x10 oil

Perrot Ridge Bluff oil

Bunnell's Bluff 8x10 oil

Stars of Spring 8x10 oil

Top of O'Brady's 8x10 oil

Pantaloons of Perrot 8x10 oil

Fancy Dance 2 Ho-Chunk Regalia 11x14 oil

Fancy Dance 1 Ho-Chunk Regalia 11x14 oil

On the Verge of Spring 8x10 oil

Spring Unfurls 8x10 oil

Trempealeau Refuge Trail 11x14 oil

On the Square Galesville 11x14 oil

Golden Moments at Elmaro 8x10 oil

Plein Air Works

Prairie Morning 8x10 oil unframed

A few more attempts at plein air painting since the workshop. Getting out during the mornings and cooler afternoons to push that paint around. I did need to evaluate and make some adjustments in the studio afterwards. Hopefully the more I do the better I'll get.

Road to Spillway 8x10 oil unframed

River Bend in Perrot 8x10 oil unframed

 Inquiries: cshoreartwork@gmail.com

Hixon Garden Roses

Sunday's La Crosse Folk Life was a great day to paint in the gardens. The trellis of roses was my subject matter to paint plein air. 

Hixon Garden Roses 8x10 oil 

I did a few more additions in the studio. The painting was a bit wet and wouldn't take the highlights of white on the trellis plus I couldn't come up with the fuchsia colored roses with the paint I had on hand. So it goes, a little more work on the canvas in the studio making some adjustments. But here it is now.

Thanks to the staff and volunteers of La Crosse County Historical Society and Hixon House. I enjoyed interacting with the participants and other demonstrators.

At the beginning blocking in the shapes

As far as I got onsite

Folk Life La Crosse at Historic Hixon House

Gideon's Grand Entry 8x10 oil 

I'll be joining other local artisans to show how I create my art this Sunday, July 17 from 10-3. This free event will be held on the grounds of the historic Hixon House at 429 7th St. N. in downtown La Crosse. Museum tours of the home will also be available for a $6 fee.

Did you know? 

The Hixon House was finished being built 1858. During that same time artists were headed outside to paint because of a new development, the 1841 invention of the paint tube. American artist/inventor John Goffe Rand transported artists from pig bladders and glass syringes to the collapsible metal tube, allowing artist to take their hand made oil paint with them outside to create. ( I like to think of this as the cell phone of their decade). 

This invention was one of the events that lead to the birth of the Impressionist Movement 1860-1886, of capturing the light and reflecting the world we live in.

Fortunately, Winsor-Newton, art supply manufacturer acquired the patent and thought to add the screw cap as a final touch. Good thinking on their part I'd say.

I'll be painting plein air much like the impressionists of the late 1800's. You'll find me with my pochade box and easel by the gardens.

Thanks for viewing Colleen Shore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning to Push the Paint

Marsh Study One 8x10 oil 

Tree Line Study One oil

Marsh Study Two 8x10 oil 

 At the end of June I attended a workshop offered by Kami Mendlik of St. Croix River School of  Painting. It was a wonderful 3 days of trying to absorb new techniques and approaches. As in the title of this post, we were learning to push paint. Thank you again Kami for your patience and sharing your passion for painting.

I'm excited to keep going with this approach and want to share some of my studies during the weekend. Some of the things I needed to change were, as Kami worded it, paint like your rich. So on goes the paint the colors in thick strokes just begging for a palette knife to cut into it. Even the method of mixing paints was new to me. She showed us how to whip it up without using any gamsol until it's consistency reminded me of butter.

I felt like a chef prepping my ingredients then wallah a recipe for success.

I still have a lot of work to do incorporating the new information in my brain so my hands and eyes see the tones and values. These studies are pretty rough, they don't have the finesse that will hopefully come later as I search for my style.

Down by the Riverside International Friendship Gardens

 It was a pleasure to help the Riverside International Friendship Gardens celebrate in June with joining the fun by plein air painting in the gardens. It's a favorite spot of Drawn Together to gather for our weekly drawing.Thank you to the volunteers that keep it so beautiful.

I needed a few more excuses to get outside and paint because of my upcoming workshop in Stillwater, MN. It's the first workshop in the last couple of years and I was really looking forward to learning from Kami Mendlik at the end of June. More on that in another upcoming blog. I'm still digesting the all the new information.

Below are the results of some plein air and some studio works that I've done featuring the gardens. Enjoy. Questions or perhaps to purchase contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com

Path to Pergola 8x10 oil 

Dragon's Greeting 8x10 oil 

Riverside Garden 8x10 oil 

River Birches 8x10 oil unframed $50