Modern Scandinavian Elements *SOLD

A 12"x36" canvas is a fun size to paint! This color palette was on my mind right away when starting this piece. I wanted something light and playful with an elongated Scandinavian feel. I stayed with primary color variations for the main elements and added pops of orange, green and ivory to play in the background. As with all my paintings, the outline is a dark blue, although it may appear black in a photograph.

Modern Scandinavian Elements is acrylic on canvas with painted edges. The stretcher bars are 1.5" thick. The canvas size is 12"x36" | available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $260.00 |  218-547-3729

Forest Order Totem *SOLD shown with Light Among the Wind Totem

I have been fascinated with textiles and totems lately. Something about a totems ability to tell a story and the repetition of a textile - make me want to combine the two in paint. My latest totem style painting is about the forest order. I used turquoise to represent water and sky. My intent with repetition is to represent trees and arrows for hunting and gathering. The Bald Eagle is at the top of the food chain and so it sits at the top of the panel as a symbol of forest and order.

This 6" x 12" - acrylic on textured panel - piece is titled Forest Order and is shown next to another totem panel I titled Light Among the Wind.

Patchwork Forest *SOLD

Patchwork Forest is a small 9" x 12" acrylic painting with a lot of layers and a lot of color. I used an impressionist style along with overpainting for this little forest birch tree painting. By layering color and alternating brush strokes the painting has a rich texture. This style, with all it's colors, is fun to hang in different environments and see what colors are highlighted by it's surrounding. 

I framed Patchwork Forest in a natural floater frame with black spacer to give it a simple modern finish. 

Sincere Nature *SOLD

Sometimes the most fun pieces to create live in my mind until they are ready to hatch. That was the case with this piece. While enjoying a nice early summer drink on the patio, overlooking the lake, I noticed a sweet leafy branch with a beautiful flow to it. I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to capture the branch until today. 

A painter friend,  gave me some beautiful hand made paper to try. The warm tone, deckled edge and uneven variations called for brush and ink. Daler Rowney makes a gorgeous Red Earth ink which, set against the warm paper, has a very peaceful feeling. Ochre, warm red and grey are one of my favorite combinations SO I had to use a rich grey background. 

The final piece is simple but calming and elegant. I just might be hooked on ink and handmade paper. 

Sincere Nature is a 12"x12" ink on handmade paper piece. Available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. for $45.00 | 218-547-3729

Meadow Birch - SOLD

The Birch trees surrounding northern Minnesota have been great models for me this summer. This one caught my eye with it's gentle swoop and view of the golden meadow. I just might add a little more red to it before I call it finished but I'll hang out with it for a few days before I add anything more.

This watercolor painting will be framed to about 16"x20" - give or take a few inches. Meadow Birch will be available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN as soon as it is framed.

Forest Quilt *SOLD

I used a lot of texture and layering to create Forest Quilt. If you get up close to it, you will see the overlaying of color, thick paint, and a crosshatching technique - all used to give this piece depth and the feeling of being deep in the forest. I have always been drawn to woven tapestries and wanted to give this piece the woven feeling with paint. Birch trees make a good subject for this style since the bark already has a woven appearance.

The colors I chose are exaggerated from those you might find in nature…but that is the fun part about painting…I can use any colors I like. Vibrant blues contrast the rich yellows and ochres in this piece, forcing the whites and creams of the Birch trunk to stand out. 

Forest Quilt is a 40"x30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas. The stretcher bars are 1.5" thick. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, Minnesota | 218-547-3729

Pop of Color *SOLD

Sometimes it takes someone else's inspiration to set a painting in motion. With any commissioned piece I take on, I paint with the person who has the vision in mind but I also have to paint to satisfy myself…so I paint it for myself. Working in this manner, there is nothing lost if the vision is not met. That was the case with this 20" x 30" Poppy painting. I was trying to meet the vision of a customer but in the end the blue wasn't quite right and so the painting didn't fill the need of it's original request….but….I was happy with the piece and 3 days later it was sold to someone new who had her own vision of where it would hang!

Pop of Color is a 20" 30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.