Spring is coming

Even though I hate it when they take over my yard, I've always thought there is something so charming about dandelions. It was fun to mix all the yellows for this one, I definitely see more dandelion painting in my future!

This was a good lesson on supports. I used a cheap canvas, and even though I primed it with black gesso it still felt so different and bumpy to paint on compared to the nice smooth gessoboard I'm used to.  I may give higher quality canvases a try in the future but I've learned that uber cheap canvases are no bargain!

Dandelions (March 2014, 8x8 cheap canvas)

My Matisse

I've been busy trying to put the garden in this week so I'll have to cheat and post something I painted a couple months ago. This is my first replication of a famous artist's work: Matisse's "Purple Robe and Anemones". The colors in it were so fun to mix, and I loved doing all the scroll-y little detailing in the table and fabrics.

Gina's replication of Matisse's "Purple Robe and Anemones" (March 2014, paper)

Here is the REAL DEAL Matisse (cropped slightly):

Purple Robe and Anemones [cropped], by Henri Matisse (1937)

  

Family Homestead

This day is such a sweet memory. Eddie, my dad and I were wandering around the old family farmstead (homesteaded in 1876!) near Paynesville, MN in late November 2009. Eddie was snapping pictures and got one of my dad and I walking towards one of the old buildings on the property. I love how one side of the building is so much more worn than the other.

The Shop (March 2014, 6"x6" gessobord)

Another image based on pictures from that visit: the iconic (in my mind) turn onto the 1/4 mile long driveway leading to the old farmhouse where my grandma lived. The house is hidden by the woods.

Rural Route 2 (March 2014, 6"x6" gessobord)

And last but not least: here is the upper half of the small Catholic church (St. Margaret's) in Lake Henry, MN, which is just a mile or so down the road from the family homestead. I've always loved this church, and as a kid when I'd see its twin steeples I'd know we were getting close to Grandma's house. This is only the top half of the church, some day when I'm more ambitious I'll paint the whole thing! It really is a beautiful little church.

St. Margaret's (March 2014, 8"x8" gessobord)

I have more pictures from that day in my "to paint" file, stay tuned!