"Ramsey hill"

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

My first real attempt at a cityscape. I just wanted to do a small study to get my feet wet. For the most part I squinted and got down shapes and colors that I saw. I spent another half an hour with smaller details. More to come.

"Morning over the Minnesota"

18" x 24"
Oil on stretched linen

A larger version done from a location painting I did earlier this spring before everything greened up.

"Walker Art Center"

10" x 10"
oil on masonite

Painting number two. I got off the beaten path and chose this view of the new Walker Art Center.

"Cherry spoon"

11" x 12-1/4"
Oil on masonite

Painting number one from the OPM paintout last weekend. I couldn't find a good angle I liked to incorporate more of downtown Minneapolis into the scene like I would have liked. I ended up setting up right on a sidewalk. I couldn't believe the amount of people that come to see this thing and take pictures of it. I suppose they were thinking they couldn't believe how many painters paint this thing as well. We were scattered all around it and everyone, save one or two, was painting the sculpture. Water shoots out the top of the stem and into the pond. That is the second highlight just right of the base of the spoon, water sprinkling down.

"Mendota Bridge"

9" x 12"
Oil on panel

I have painted this bridge into so many landscapes now. It just seems to crop up in many of the places I like to paint. There are so many paintings in this park (Fort Snelling). Every one I have done here has been through trees looking onto water. I guess that is the draw for me here. I think I'll branch out and change it up a bit then come back when I'm ready to look at it in another way.

"Backwoods pond"

10" x 12-1/2"
Oil on panel

This view caught my eye as I drove heading towards the river at Fort Snelling.

"Snelling Lake"

15-1/2" x 9-1/2"
Oil on panel

Fort Snelling State Park way down by the Mendota Bridge. This looks south from the the north side of Snelling Lake. I had originally planned to paint at another place but the foot traffic was really heavy, so I headed back out here. The light ended up being just right as it caught the tops of the trees. This was tick country and I must have been a good draw. I was picking them off me every 10 minutes.

"Pre-rain peace"

9-3/4" x 9-3/4"
Oil on panel

Again, Fort Snelling State Park. This is the second painting I did with Brian. The rain started falling half way through. I worked really fast on this and headed for home where I made a few minor adjustments.

"Rest station Fort Snelling"

10" x 12-1/2"
Oil on panel

I met up with fellow painter Brian Cragun of Rochester to paint last Saturday morning. Fort Snelling State Park again. I continued experimenting with using the painting knife to render foliage. Three reasons: I liked the effects I got when I went back on a previous painting and reworked the leaves, I didn't have much time and using a painting knife greatly expedites the process while still looking natural, and thirdly, I watched a video of Matthew Alexander working. He is an English landscape painter whose work I really admire. I have some learning to do with the method. If done wrong, it can really look haphazard in my opinion. Hopefully it adds to the mood and feel of the trees in these.

"Fort Snelling State Park"

9" x 12"
Oil on panel

At the very entrance, just down the hill, there is a trail that splits two large ponds. I stood right in the middle and looked north for this one. That's the Mendota Bridge in the distance.