In the Nick of Time . . .

In the Nick of Time

I'll just leave this here and come back later for details.

I'm back! Details.
I'm not sure where my reference photo came from but I loved the fresh cut wheat in rows.
The little town in the distance is from a photo I took while driving
back from Brainerd, Minnesota last month.
So iconic here on the Great Plains.
The white houses, a few steeples, and
grain elevators.
The storm on the horizon is nothing out of the ordinary for folks
out here in the middle of the country so to add it to
this painting was natural.
Always trying to stay one step ahead of Nature.
And with that, I need to head out to take in the last
of the garden, pull up tomato plants and okra and chop
out the invasive chives.
Who gave me that evil clump of chives, anyway?

Detail : 10"x10"
Oil on canvas

Pennington Mine Lake . . .

Pennington Mine Lake

Have I mentioned this week what a wonderful weekend I spent

in Brainerd, Minnesota, last week?

I have?

I did.

Lisa toured me around the area that is covered with

mountains of iron ore and deep lakes 
all created by the mining in that area

not so long ago.

Rocks - rusty red rocks. Some with blue flashes and lots of quartz embedded.

It will be fun this winter to hole up in the shop and see what polishes from these.

In the meantime, I painted this picture from a photo I took of

Pennington Mine Lake at Ironton.

Lisa told me she takes her kidlets here in the summer for picnics

and swimming off the rocks.

You can see that this evening it was particularly calm.

Now I wish I'd taken more pictures but there WILL be a next time.

Details : Oil on canvas

8"x8"

Time to start over . . .

On the Way to the House of a Friend

Yes, I admit it. 

I didn't quite make the 30 Oil Paintings in 30 Days. 

Life just gets in the way of plans sometimes.

But with the last of my Big Push things now out of the way,

I'm ready to get back to the easel and paint.

Maybe not 30 in 30 but as close as I can come.

Love the way this painting turned out, I'm happy to say!

Taken from a photo when I was on my way back from Brainerd, Minnesota, last week.

I finally got to meet my long-distance friend Lisa Jordan at the Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd where she is the Executive/Artistic Director.

I taught a workshop in torchfired enamel, 13 fun, artsy women, and we had an absolute ball all weekend. Can't wait to do it again. Soon.

The Crossing Arts Alliance is hosting a fundraiser the weekend of 10 October

and asking their artists to take an 8x8 canvas and produce

a piece of art in their own styles to donate for purchase.

All works will be $50 and all monies will go to the CAA.

Great idea and I love challenges like this. 

Details : 8"x8"

Oil on canvas

Post Script : The Process
I love this 'feeling it out' part.

Copperlicious . . .

I'm seriously hooked on copper right now.  Maybe it's the way it accents the stones I've been working with or maybe it's the warmth of the metal.  Either way, it's been fun to make my own bezel strips with copper flashing and use up some of the copper wire I've had leftover from the building of our house.  (I just couldn't resist following the electrician around and picking up pieces of coated wire.  He thought I was nuts).

This is the second piece going to Lil Fish Lisa for her niece who found the Lake Superior agates on her trip to Lisa's this summer.  I pierced the Loon on the Lake on the back of the piece as the loon is the State Bird of Minnesota - and you thought it was the mosquito.

Lovely mementos.