Modern Scandinavian Garden Red-Poles and Forsythia •SOLD

 Yellow, blue and Red-Poles where my inspiration for this piece. I was ready for a large scale Modern Scandinavian Garden painting and imagined exaggerated Forsythia branches. The Red-Poles have been visiting our feeder and made for cheerful little models. I asked our local florist if she could get Forsythia in and she was happy to look into it! This piece kept getting brighter and brighter and it just might be my favorite Modern Scandinavian Garden piece.

Modern Scandinavian Garden Red-Poles & Forsythia is a 36"x36" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with painted edges. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN  | 218-547-3729

Prints and cards are available 

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Standing Tall *SOLD

When creating a painting of the Modern Scandinavian variety - a tall and skinny format plays into the feel of the piece very well. I can't say I know exactly what my model for this piece was. Some sort of stylish wild flower or weed perhaps. It was a happy little bloom that stood nice and tall for it's debut.

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Standing Tall - is watercolor on 140 lb. hot press paper. It is professionally framed to a final size of 5.75"x12" and is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN  | 218-547-3729

Modern Scandinavian Garden Milkweed Blooms II *SOLD

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Milkweed Blooms II is a commissioned piece. When approached to create a 60"x36" painting - similar to my first Milkweed Bloom painting - I was excited to get to work. That was back in the summer. I finally got to work on my canvas in December!

Merett (my son) is now 7.5 months old and taking more consistent naps which means I get more time to paint. This piece still took me 2 months to finish - I painting every nap-time I could. A larger canvas allowed me to exaggerate the leaves and give the blooms a fun enveloping flow.  As with all my Modern Scandinavian paintings - the colors are vibrant, shapes exaggerated and proportions are whimsical. 

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Milkweed Blooms II is a 60"x36" acrylic on canvas painting with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and cross braces. 

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Thistle II -SOLD

This bright little painting is a companion to Modern Scandinavian Garden Thistle I. Thistle, like allium, makes for a fun exaggerated subject. Add bright color with the fun shapes and you have a Modern Scandinavian Garden painting! I thought a little nuthatch would be a lively addition to the colorful piece.

Modern Scandinavian Garden Thistle II is a watercolor painting on 140 lb arches watercolor paper. It is framed to a final size of 7"x17" and available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $140.00 | 218-547-3729 

Modern Scandinavian Garden Allium Globes -SOLD

What's more whimsical than giant Allium Globes and exaggerated daisies? In the spirit of my Modern Scandinavian Series - I created a new light piece with color and character.

Modern Scandinavian Garden Allium Globes is a 8"x24" acrylic painting on stretched canvas with painted edges and 1.5" thick stretcher bars. It is available at Peculiar Painter for $325.00

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Woodpecker's Perch *SOLD

It's hard to pick a favorite bird in northern Minnesota since we have such a wonderful variety  of  tweeting, whistling, chirping, singing sweet birds. I do have a weakness for woodpecker birds from the downy woodpecker to the pileated woodpecker. Their fly-fly-swoop-fly motion looks like so much fun. I don't know how I'd feel about banging my head against a tree all day but the flying style I could defiantly get used to.

Using my Modern Scandinavian Garden style - I created this whimsical watercolor in honor of the sweet swooping woodpecker. Modern Scandinavian Garden - Woodpecker's Perch is 6"x16" before being framed. It is $99.00 unframed - I will post the final price after being framed in the next couple of days.

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Nuthatch view *SOLD

This narrow little painting is part of my Modern Scandinavian Garden - watercolor series. This, as well as some of my current pieces, was inspired by eucalyptus, whimsical shapes and a sweet lil Nuthatch. I enjoy how Nuthatch birds like to sit upside down - their view of the world must include a lot of blue sky and sunshine! 

I'll have the framed size when I pick this piece up from the framer. The artwork size is 3.5" x 14". Modern Scandinavian Garden - Nuthatch View is a watercolor painting on 140 lb. watercolor paper. It is available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $95.00 - framed  | 218-547-3729

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Kingfisher's Post *SOLD

When approached to create a commissioned painting I look for a few key words in the description of the person interested in a custom piece. Number one on my list is that the person interested in a piece already likes my work and preferably already owns one of my pieces - so I know that my style fits their home. Number two is how flexible they are with what they are looking for. Number three is size and mood of the piece.

For this piece - many of the elements I look for were clear. Sue already owned one of my pieces plus she browsed through my blog and made a list of 10 paintings that spoke to her the most. Most of the paintings on the list were of trees and had a lot of color and layers. The next unknown was size.

Sue invited me to her beautiful home to get a feel for the space. Every detail of their home was immaculate with bright color that balanced calm sweeps of solid earth tones. Personal details from Scandinavian artwork to brightly painted cupboards and gorgeous furniture balanced tastefully. Somehow Sue managed to create a space that felt like home, was modern but not cold and made me want to sit and visit. I was treated to wine, cheese and crackers while we visited about what Sue and her husband would like for their home. I brought a 40" square canvas to test for size. We knew the piece was to hang above the fireplace and be a focal piece of the living room. We decided 36"x48" would work the best. I took some photos of the space and got to thinking more about what would work best.

It took me a good month to visualize what to paint for this space. I knew Sue wanted a piece that would make her feel happy which meant color and movement. The happiest pieces for me are my Modern Scandinavian Garden paintings. I had never done one on that scale before but I came to the conclusion that if it were my home - that is what I would want. …so I got to painting and had a lot of fun creating the oversized allium with a Kingfisher perched at the top. I didn't know if Sue would like it as much as I did but it seems she does. I hung it in their home for a trial run to see how it made them feel and got a message that evening saying they would be keeping it. This makes me happy.

Modern Scandinavian Garden - Kingfisher's Post is a 36"x48 acrylic painting on stretched canvas with 1.5" thick stretcher bars and painted edges. 

Scandinavian Garden - Allium *SOLD

Scandinavian Garden - Allium is a new piece from my Modern Scandinavian series. 2 weeks ago - I taught a class in this style and enjoyed all the paintings that the class created! The basis for this style includes elongated shapes, bright colors and whimsical lines which sit on top of very straight lines. 

I realized, during the class, how much time this process actually takes. The time goes by so fast that you don't realize 4-5 hours actually goes into a small 7" x 15" piece. This was the piece I was demonstrating with to show the inspiration and style that creates a modern Scandinavian garden feel.

Scandinavian Garden - Allium is framed and available at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN for $76.00 | 218-547-3729

Scandinavian Garden - Modern Marigold *SOLD

My Modern Scandinavian Garden watercolor series has a bright new addition.  These pieces are inspired by "real" flowers but I add a geometric dimension to them that gives the pieces a more modern - elongated Scandinavian feel.  This, along with the intensely bright M. Graham watercolors, really makes the small piece have a bold presence. 

Scandinavian Garden - Modern Marigold  is a 6" x 14" watercolor on 140 lb watercolor paper. Available - after it is framed - at Peculiar Painter in Walker, MN | 218-547-DRAW