Blue Heron in Flight

I had to paint another Blue Heron painting! I actually started this one with Great Blue - my last Blue Heron Painting. This one has a completely different feel from my last piece. I used a palette knife to create most of this painting. I want you to hear the Blue Heron's wings on a silent bay as the sun sets. The thick layers of paint help give the painting a texture that plays colors off of each other. 

Blue Heron in Flight is an acrylic painting on deep edge stretched canvas with painted edges. This painting is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. for $655.00 | 218-547-3729

12"x36"

Freeform •SOLD

 

I'm back to palette knife painting with this piece. I had a palette of colors in my mind before starting this piece. I wanted it to be about color and movement first and about the sailboats second. I feel like the sailboats took center stage after the red made an appearance ...and I'm okay with this. I hope you feel the inspiration a warm summer day on the water brings with this piece. 

Freeform is acrylic on stretched canvas. This piece is 12"x36" with painted edges. Freeform is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. | 218-547-3729

May Days •SOLD

 

I confess, this painting started out as a winter scene. It was a serene monotone piece and was nearly finished when the monotone days of winter made me really want color. . . and then....I added more color and more color until it was a warm early spring day and I could hear the birds and the moving water. 

This is a palette knife painting which I use a lot of paint on. Because of the change in direction my paint got even thicker. There is a lot of paint on this piece. I recommend seeing it in person. Some will like the thick paint but it might not appeal to everyone. 

May Days is a 30" square acrylic painting on stretched canvas with painted edges. This painting is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. | 218-547-3729

Grounding •SOLD

 My intention, with this painting, is to center the viewer and remind you how grounding trees, water, sunshine and fresh air are to the soul. I used acrylic applied with palette knives to allow the colors to have ridges and movement. I hope you can feel the sun on the lake and it warms your thoughts and balances your mood. 

Grounding is an acrylic painting on stretched deep edge canvas with cross braces and painted edges. The size is 30"x40". This piece is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. | 218-547-3729.

Two on the Crew •SOLD

A couple in a canoe paddled by me, last summer, while I sat on the dock. I admired how they worked together in harmony. It is not often that I see a couple in harmony ...in a canoe. I had my camera at my side and took reference photos to paint. 

I thought a palette knife painting would suit this little piece. As with most palette knife paintings - the paint is thick and the style is loose - allowing the viewer to fill in the details. This is a small 8" painting with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. Two on the Crew - is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN.  | 218-547-3729

Take to the Sky & Water *SOLD

 This painting is a commissioned piece. As with all commission requests, I take suggestion on size  and subject. For this one, the customer liked my palette knife sailboat paintings but wanted a float plane as the feature. She sent me float plane photos that she had taken and I used those for the plane model. I wanted the piece to feel calm and open. 

With commissions, I give the customer, first opportunity to buy the piece. If it is not what the person had in mind, I hang it in the store for sale. This way there is no pressure on the buyer or me. In this case, she loved it and purchased it. This always makes me happy.

Take to the Sky & Water is a 24"x30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with painted edges. There is a lot of paint on this canvas. This piece is sold. 

As Far As I Can See *SOLD

It's funny how a painting will find the person it belongs to. I don't know how many times I have heard gallery visitors say, "I don't know exactly what I'm looking for but I'll know it when I see it." It makes me happy when that piece is a creation of mine. 

I had just started this painting by applying my colors with a palette knife - creating thick layers. The week got busy and I didn't get a chance to work on this piece. It sat on my easel in our living room. Each morning I would wake up to these colors and think to myself, "I sort or want to leave it like this - the colors feel good to me." I happened to snap a photo of the morning light on the canvas to remember it after I worked the canvas up more. This same week a family friend stopped in for a visit. He took to the colors too and asked, "how much for the piece just as it is?" And that is the story of how this palette knife painting got to stay in it's raw color form (with a little fine tuning) and go to it's new home in Wisconsin. I couldn't be happier about this.

As Far as I Can See is a 40"x40" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. It is SOLD.

Lost Track of Time *SOLD

This painting is meant to remind it's viewers to enjoy the lazy days of summer, light, warmth and color. I used a palette knife to give the canvas an untamed freedom - the feeling of summer  with dancing light playing off of the cobalt and teal lake.  

Lost Track of Time is a 24" x 48" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. 

South Wind & Sunshine *SOLD

I have painted several pieces with this feeling of freedom, summer and fresh water. Palette knife helps me capture the open space and dancing light on water.

South Wind and Sunshine is a 10"x10" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN  | 218-547-3729

Shore Lunch - •SOLD

Shore Lunch is inspired by sunsets, fishing, calm waters and outboard motors. There is a family that occupies Minnesota Island in the summer. I've always said, "this family knows how to enjoy Minnesota summers. They are either fishing, jumping off a raft, having a bonfire or just visiting at a picnic table with a cup of coffee. I often see their aluminum boat taking supply runs to resorts and landings to pick up friends, family and supplies. This painting is a glimpse of this summer loving family.

Shore Lunch is a 16"x20" acrylic painting on cradled wood panel with painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN 

Sky Water Wind *SOLD

This painting is about color and movement - about the sun on your face and the wind at your back. Nothing shows color and movement better than the strokes of a palette knife - layered with teals, cobalts and a bit of naples yellow to add some sunshine across it's blue water background.

Sky Water Wind is a 12" x 36" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $375.00 | 218-547-3729

Voyagers and Water Ways *SOLD

It's been a year of palette knife paintings for me. Letting some of the control of the paint be determined by the knife gives a nice open light feeling to a piece. I pair the tighter details of a form with the loose blending of the water with the knife.

Voyagers and Water Ways is a 30"x40" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with painted edges. It will be available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN | 218-547-3729

August Air *SOLD

August Air is a palette knife painting. Painting with a knife and thick application of paint is so satisfying. The paint chooses it's path with little guidance from me. When I want to create a piece that feels modern, has a feeling of dancing sunshine and is about color more than shape - I pick up my palette knifes. 

August Air is a 30"x30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $675.00 | 218-547-3729

Summer Song *SOLD

It's January which means things have gotten quiet at the gallery and I have 3 days a week to spend at home - PAINTING! Yes, I can paint at the shop but there is nothing like lighting candles, turning up the music and having the space all to myself to paint. I can work on larger pieces, watch the snow fall, make coffee and get lost in paint. My pup, Molly, seems to like this time too - she spent most of the afternoon curled up at my feet as I painted.

Palette knife painting felt like the obvious choice for a summer sailboat scene. The application of paint with a knife helps to create unexpected transitions that dance like light on water. I used broad paint application for the sky and water and more detail on the sailboats in the distance.

Summer Song is a 30"x40" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $565.00 | 218-547-3729

Lake Effect *SOLD

This was a fun, multi layered painting. To see the process I used to create it, from start to finish, click on the youtube video below. 

Lake Effect is a 30" x 30" acrylic painting on stretched canvas. Available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN. for $398.00  | 218-547-3729

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CJNQYEGcG8