Tim Schutz | Painter

"Skyway Commute"

2008-05-05T10:17:00.004-05:00

14" x 18"
Oil on linen

Last week, on a lunch break, I took a walk around downtown Minneapolis. It was raining steadily, not hard, but enough to keep people off the streets and in the skyways.

"Late in the day"

2008-04-28T10:55:00.003-05:00

11" x 14"
Oil on panel

This is an area in Minneapolis that is quickly being built back up and underwent the old-warehouse to hip-new-loft conversion that has been happening the past 10 years or so in the warehouse district and along Washington Avenue. That has slowed down considerably as of late, but what's interesting is that a lot of the old structures that existed remain as part of the architecture. Gives some interesting subject matter for painting.

'Shadows Fall on Minneapolis"

2008-04-24T19:01:00.005-05:00

12" x 16"
Oil on linen

This is looking down Fifth street in Downtown Minneapolis. It is a photo taken from 15 floors up. I blocked in the shadow immediately and worked the shapes abstractly. Right at the very end I completed the distant buildings and few patches of light and that was it. This one felt like it exploded out of me in a big rush.

"Pine's end overlook"

2008-04-02T23:13:00.003-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

Como park. I will not be happy until I've painted every square inch of this park. First day in a while with sun and most of the snow had melted off at the time of this painting. A day later we received 6" of the white stuff. With little fanfare, I slipped my gloves and woolen hat back into my painting bag.

"Como Park"

2008-03-26T21:01:00.001-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

Como Park late in the day.

"Linwood"

2008-03-21T17:23:00.001-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

Ahhhh....the majesty of spring in Minnesota!

"Nestled In"

2008-03-21T17:10:00.004-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

I drove out to Forest Lake without knowing what I was really looking for. I spotted this lonesome home on the edge of a field and went at it. This Minnesota spring still has a little chill left in her and I felt it here. These clouds moved in as I drove out. I've been unlucky in that way these past few days, but plenty to paint nonetheless. I've been looking for color to play up in the gray landscapes. This red house among the gray/green pines was it for me on this day.

"Misty Morning - Looking North"

2008-01-26T15:02:00.000-06:00

Today the cold spell we've been having here in Minnesota finally broke. I decided to get out while the getting was good and paint a couple studies. This area is south of the Twin Cities in Inver Grove Heights. I found a nice field where I could turn in almost any direction and get a good composition. Below is the first:

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

"Misty Morning - Looking South"

2008-01-26T14:56:00.001-06:00

After finishing the first, I picked up my tripod, walked 10 feet up the hill and facing the other way, did this second study.

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

"North Side"

2008-01-02T22:16:00.001-06:00

12" x 24"
Oil on Linen

"Fall on Fifth Street"

2008-01-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

16" x 20"
Oil on Linen

"Fall on Fifth Street"

2007-11-17T10:43:00.001-06:00

9" x 12"
Oil on panel

I stood next to the Ordway in downtown St. Paul to paint this one a couple of weeks ago. I was happy to get alot of good comments from those passing by. This intersection offers alot of painting possibilities, with the cobblestone streets and interesting architecture.

"Mendota Heights, morning"

2007-10-14T10:44:00.000-05:00

9x12
Oil on panel

The sun hitting this grass field brought out its colors. I didn't know that the Dodge Nature Center was what I was looking at. I had parked in a church lot and walked around the back to get this view. While painting, a group of kids and their parents walked through the field there. Next time I'm going to wander back and explore a bit.

"Picnic Pavilion"

2007-10-14T10:38:00.001-05:00

8x10
Oil on panel

Como Park on a grayish late afternoon. The park has changed so much over the course of the summer from all the storm damage. Lots of trees missing. It looks so bare now but that could also be due to the trees losing their leaves as well. These structures are a challenge for the shapes of their roof.

"Lattitudes & Attitudes"

2007-08-28T22:53:00.000-05:00

16" x 12"
Oil on panel

I started this right after painting "Saint Paul Yacht Club". I wanted to do a larger one of the area and used a black and white reference photo and sketches to work out the composition. Then, with the colors still fresh in my mind, I went to work on this using the plein air as my reference for the mood and color. After laying in the first block-in of color, I decided to change up my scheme a bit. I wanted a clearer feel than I had observed painting the study. It meant emphasizing the complimentary color. Instead of the orangey cast of the study, I concentrated on keeping in the blue range.

"Saint Paul Yacht Club"

2007-08-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

The docks are located across the Mississippi from Downtown Saint Paul. This was my third attempt to paint this area. I dodged lightning the first two times! Finally I had some decent weather. It was partly cloudy with the sun ducking in and out. I like the blue covers that sit over some of the slips. Great shapes to play with.

"Bloomington farm"

2007-08-28T22:44:00.001-05:00

6" x 8"
oil on panel

This farm is located kitty corner from the Mall of America and down about a quarter mile. I went out at lunch and painted this. There was a soft mist falling that added to the soft light from the low clouds.

"Summer evening"

2007-08-28T22:38:00.000-05:00

19" x 14"
oil on panel

I used a painting I had done called "Summer days" to make this larger one. I didn't use any references whatsoever except for the smaller painting itself as a jumping off point. I did do several sketches to plan the composition and rough out the value structure. I wanted to create a more subdued atmosphere and the value sketches helped me to attain that.

"Mid Day Ritter Farm"

2007-07-20T08:51:00.000-05:00

8" x 10"
Oil on panel

I had an opportunity to paint with Steve Atkinson last weekend at Ritter Farm Park. It was a perfect day for painting. There are many trails here and we only walked a small part of the entire park. This is one of those trails. I was drawn to the deep shadows in the far trees and the twisted small trees along the side. I started this painting at high noon.

"Summer days"

2007-07-11T09:32:00.000-05:00

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

This is a view in Fort Snelling State Park. Having painted there so much this summer, I had noticed these trees at sunset a number of times and wanted to paint them at some point. I got out there a little later than I should have and had about a half an hour to get down what I felt I needed. I wrapped up as it was getting fairly dark and finished in the studio.

"Morning heat"

2007-07-11T09:23:00.000-05:00

6" x 8"
Oil on raymar panel

Got out there early and the sun warmed up really quick. This is my first time painting on a Raymar panel and I really like it. It took the paint nicely. I ordered the sample pack. This was done on the single oil primed surface. I have yet to try the others but I am sold on these for sure.

"End of June"

2007-07-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

12" x 8"
Oil on panel

I intended to do a smaller study of this but as I worked out the value sketch beforehand, I decided to use a larger panel. I still managed to keep it under an hour and a half.

"North side"

2007-06-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

6" x 10"
Oil on panel

A quick, small study painted at Fort Snelling State Park. I painted this exact view last month and felt I could improve on it. I wanted to capture the vastness of this area a bit more. I had some really nice, strong light to play with.

"Below campus"

2007-06-29T09:07:00.001-05:00

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

I setup along the Mississippi across from the University of Minnesota to get the evening light effects and shadows hitting the buildings there. I pushed the darks in the foreground to keep the atmosphere and edited the left side pretty heavily to expose the bridge to the sky. I made the mistake of cutting the panel in half and tried to compensate by allowing the sky to come down further in to the painting. I still feel it is too balanced.

"Como Park Pavilion"

2007-06-16T11:38:00.001-05:00

12" x 10"
Oil on panel

Changing some things up a bit. I'm trying to "see" the final painting before I start and also thinking more about edges. This causes me to go about the painting in a different way. I've wanted to paint the pavilion here for some time and the evening light last night was just right. I want too do some more studies of the lakeside as well with the morning light coming up.