Two of a Kind

This week I worked on loosening up my brush strokes with some figures. Even picking up twigs to paint with in order to break up the lines for more interest. Enjoy.

Team Work 8x10

 A couple of workers on the land.

Rollin' on the River 8x10

Onalaska Log Rolling Tournament.

Eye of the Drawer aka Two Lynn's 


 8x10

Two artists focused on their drawings. 

The first person to respond to this blog with the correct identities of both artists will win "Eye of the Drawer " painting! Answer at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. I got a winner Lynne correctly identified the artists, Lynne V and Lynn H.

 Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.

Loosening Up

On my travels back home from the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, I stopped at the Trempealeau Refuge. It's always changing and you never know what you're going to see. The water lilies are ready to burst. That bright spot of yellow was close enough to capture. After my gallery inspiration I tried to become a whole lot looser in my brush strokes

Refuge Lily 5x7

The common butterfly weed was abundant. My mentor commented the first attempt lacked a strong focal point. Here you can see the before and after. I think she was right. Another case of I wanted to paint what I only saw and not be brave enough to make corrections to the composition.

Butterfly Refuge 8x10

before redo

 Another  picturesque view of the country side.

Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.

FarmScape 5x7

Marine Art

 

A visit to MN Marine Art Museum

Where better to see how artists handle painting water than the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. A short trip up to Winona, Minnesota and now I'm a member. The current exhibit of The American Society of Marine Artists 18th National Exhibition caught my eye. Here's my four favorite and some information about the exhibit.

Next week some paintings inspired along the way home from the museum. 

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July.

Another Angle

 Just finished some adjustments to the last three in my La Crosse Streets series.

Lots more detail and trying to do cars. Things get a lot looser as the detail level goes up. Hope the new editions are enjoyed.

 

Corner on Main 8x10

 

Pearl Street 8x10

Alley Reflections 8x10

Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.

Unique Perspectives

Hanging out on the street and ambling down alleyways may be seemly to some. I found it to be the subject matter of my next paintings. Downtown La Crosse is my old stomping grounds. As a student of art at the University, years ago it was a ritual to head downtown with friends for some fun.

So many of these alleys and buildings still exist from my early days of learning to love the Coulee Region. They offer a challenge of creating perspective, working on vanishing points and lots of strong shadows and textures.

Brick Alley 8x10

Following are some of the photos of the process with guidance from my mentor. Starting with just values in shades of gray then working into color and correcting as I continue.

Starting tp add some color

Just the lights and darks

Original photo

Here's a few more. Thanks again for fresh eyes from my mentor, learning I don't have to include everything my camera picks up. It seems obvious but its some times hard to edit ourselves.

Backyard Parking 8x10

Alley Secrets 8x10

Street Cafe 8x10

Last one a homage to Grounded Coffee Cafe where they have once a month artist exhibits on the patio.

I'll have a few more street scenes next week.

Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.

Hard to Sit Still

Tiring of waiting for my face to heal, I popped out for a road trip to meet up with the drawing group for the Wed. morning outing. I couldn't stay long, I was curious to see the place of a former fellow art student Nick who opened up his bluff top residence for the morning.

At least I could cover myself up and take some inspirational photos. With no time to visit, relax and draw, I would at least draw some inspiration. Coming home to knock out a couple of small paintings in between my current project.

The Weight of Limbs 5x7

Artifacts and curiosities were propped up in the most unusual places.

If the Shoe Doesn't Fit 5x7

I just had to post this one as well. I don't have a back story but suppose we all like to hang onto memento's to remind us past efforts.

Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.

A few more Plein Air Attempts

Kinstone Cabin  8x10

May started off with a weekend to Kinstone to do some Plein Air painting. It was a nice sunny day with no distractions. I attended their fall open house and decided to come back for the spring season opening. It's a lovely place to paint, especially if you want to work on your rocks.

Kinstone Chapel 8x10

Another popular subject matter is the chapel made of cord wood with a thatched roof. I brought these two paintings home to be able to dry and treat, while I left 10 framed paintings for sale on display in their education center. If you stop in be sure to see them. Or check out the April 25, 2021 blog "Kinstone Open House..."

Spring Returns 8x10

The daffodils in my yard were spectacular this year. A favorite spring bloom.

So now it's June and as my luck would have it I have to put off plein air painting for another month, due to a chemical face peel recommended by my dermatologist. Those sun worshiping days are long behind me but the damage is still there. Hope to get back out doors soon.

My goals are now for some studio work emphasizing street scenes, in particular those interesting alleys and roads in downtown La Crosse. My mentor has suggested another approach for me to work on my values and I'll be practicing some knife skills, the palette kind. 

Questions or perhaps to purchase one of my original unframed oil paintings on panels, please contact me at cshoreartwork@gmail.com. Thanks for viewing.