Yesterday I was on a mission to paint some fresh produce...I just couldn't help myself!  I have been painting so many landscapes lately that I just could hardly stand it until I was at the supermarket waiting to be seduced by a piece of fruit, or maybe a fresh vegetable...And there it was,... a most lovely bunch of carrots.  You know, the kind with the greens still attatched.  So then I began the quest to build the scene.  Red onions would be a nice contrast in both shape and color.  And then I needed something bigger to anchor it all...which is where the squash came in.  Nice warm colors and pleasing shapes.

So here's the beginning of the painting.  Just laying in the shapes, getting the composition right and noting where the lightest lights are and the darkest darks.  Hopefully I can hold on to this!  The carrot greens are going down fast.  I'll keep you posted.

Sometimes I wonder what the rest of the world sees...because i'm pretty sure it's not what I see! 
This is the humble little scene, (a couple doors down from where I dropped my son off to hang with his good buddy), that caught my eye and made me slam on the brakes!  Nothing  amazing, as you can see...but the way the light hit, it just caught my eye.  I could feel a quirky little painting waiting to be born. 

This photo captures the excitement of being able to recieve a critique, on my very own canvas, by a Master!  This is Scott Christensen, what a nice guy.  I'm definately saving this canvas!

My first whole day in Colorado Springs was spent on location at the Glen Eyrie Castle, an amazingly beautiful area surrounded by mountains and weird red rock structures both near and faraway, and also lots of amazingly exotic-looking animals that I've never seen before.  It was invaluable to see how Scott Christensen lays in his paintings, making it look far easier than it should. 

However, if there is one nugget I got out of this whole weekend it is this: simplify, simplify, simplify!  Capture the light and as soon as you have said what needs to be said, be done!  That is where so many of us go wrong, overdoing it and not giving the viewer an opportunity to engage their own mind in our paintings.

I ended up back at Glen Eyrie on two other days to paint with Skip Whitcomb and also Frank Serrano.  What an amazing opportunity...if only it hadn't been so rainy, cold, and windy that I could hardly stand it!  I thought coming from Minnesota this would be a breeze, but I definately did not come prepared for that!  Still, the out of character weather we endured showed the true resiliance of a plein air painter!  And often it is that sort of weather that offers the most intriguing atmosphere to try and capture on canvas.

The day I was to fly home I wrapped up this unexplainable experience exploring the Garden of the Gods.  It seemed appropriate that I would be sharing this with new artists friends I had made from both Brazil and Canada, a reflection of the awesomeness of this conference.  And the cherry on top of it all is that I also saw my first Rattle Snake, up close and personal, about 5 feet away!...It made my heart beat fast.  But it was very cool...and noisy as it rattled!

Another thing that made my heart beat fast was stopping at the Hayden Hays Gallery at the Broodmoor Hotel on my taxi ride back to the airport.  I brought the driver right in with me because no one should miss seeing these paintings up close and personal!  I pondered the majesty of a single vase glowing out of the darkness in a David Leffel painting that was priced at $70,000.  But perhaps my favorite was a tiny 8X10 winter scene by Frank Serrano that just radiated reflection off the snow.  Ahhh...how sad to leave.

And so as I enter back into "real life" I know I will forever be richer because of this opportunity.  I feel truly inspired to jump in even deeper on my never-ending quest to honor the beauty God has shared with us. 

I just returned from the experience of a lifetime!  I spent a week in Colorado Springs, CO, learning from the greatest living painting Masters of our time, and it is hard to put into words the impact such an event will have on me and perhaps the world.  I doubt there has ever been a gathering of this scope and magnitude before... and for those of us from this country as well as around the world, blessed to be there, it was an opportunity to share and interact in a community of like-minded artists all on the same journey, although all in different places along the way. 

The vast talent we were exposed to, all together at one place and time, I'm imagining, was unpresidented.  Richard Schmid, whom I consider to be the "Grandfather" of all of us oil painters living today, was received by the audience with the love and respect of a cherished family member.  He received a standing ovation before he even began to speak... and then went on with a sweet, gentle talk that left us all a little more in love with this humble genius.
 
As I went about my agenda, attending workshops with Masters I never in my lifetime thought I would meet, I was thankful to connect with fellow artists from around the country who spoke the same language as I and shared the same passion.  Because of this event, the world became much smaller as I now will be in contact with artists I never would have met before.

And so, there I was, sitting directly behind David Leffel as we and others watched Dan Gerhartz paint a portrait of  "Lisa" that glowed with radiance.  I was especially moved by Dan's spirituality as he spoke of his calling as an artist to "observe and reveal the nuances of what he sees."  He said he stands in awe of the designs God has created...that each design was made with dignity and a purpose...and what comes out of his brush is his opportunity to honor this and reveal it's beauty.  Dan has such a reverance for what he paints and it radiates out of his work.  Truly one of the hightlights of my week.

I was surprised at what a funny (and gentle and sweet and soft spoken) man David Leffel was.  So many of us have him on such a high pedestal, because of the immensity of his talent...and I'm imagining that many of us were intimidated at the idea of even being in his presence...and yet there he was, calmly yet with poetic authority, sharing with us the intellectual reasoning behind the painterly decisions he makes. It was lovely.

Scott Burdick was a delight to listen to and watch.  Besides painting with a thick juiciness that is just plain yummy, it was awesome to hear his stories.  He spoke of his travels around the world and particularily Africa with his wife Susan Lyons.  This is an amazing young couple who has already gone to places few others have, to draw and paint and make friends with the nomads of Africa, the kind of people most of us only experience through National Geographic magazines.  The drawings these people recieved (to be carefully folded and folded into a tiny square to be tucked inside of their loincloth!) was perhaps the only look at themselves they ever had!  He also spoke of perserverance, the never-ending quest to grow as an artist, saying success depends more on hard work than anything.

And so those are some of the artists I had the pleasure of seeing in action, in addition to Jeremy Lipking. Tomorrow I will share my workshop experiences in which I painted on location with other Masters!  See you! 

You know, I'm not really a boat person... I don't know much about them and was never really exposed to them as a child...but here in Red Wing, MN, in the quiet of the early morning, I felt a longing for what every other boat owner seems to already know. 

The secret peacefulness of the morning, especially here at this marina was so tranquil and special, it seemed almost holy, even.  I was starting to understand what was perhaps so alluring about fishing, besides the fish!  As I painted the serenity of this scene, I was totally alone, surrounded by quiet, except for the gentle sounds of nature, a frog croaking, a wave gently lapping on to shore, and the birds happily serenading me...that must be what all those fisherman really love!...could it be?

And so, once again I reveled in the joy I felt to be an artist, a plein air painter, to be exact.  How beautiful to stand at my easel at a time when I would usually be in bed(!) and have the opportunity to capture the quiet of this morning.

This particular day, my painting friend Sue and I were wandering through a horse pasture someplace in rural Zumbrota, MN, looking for the perfect scene to paint.  Of course we had permission to be wandering here, and we felt as if we had stepped into not only another world (being city girls and all!) but also another era...this landscape was so pristine and untouched by development I was completely expecting Laura Ingalls Wilder to walk around the corner!  This day was a breath of new life for my soul...to be so far removed from my usual life and having the privilege of attempting to capture on canvas this space and all I felt about it.
And so that experience was part of the plein air event in Zumbrota, celebrating the 100th anniversary of it's covered bridge, concluding with a "quick paint" of the bridge itself. 
Later on, in July, I ventured over to Red Wing, MN, to partake in a week of plein air painting in that quaint town bursting with charm, never-ending flower pots , historic buildings, beautiful marina scenes, and flowing rural landscapes.  Although the temps were precariously close to 100, it was an awesome week!  Those paintings still remain in the Depot Gallery downtown.
The next week, I ventured back to Door County, WI, where I am represented by Fine Line Designs Gallery, to join in the plein air "quick paint' sponsored by the Peninsula School of Art.  What a cool art school!!  It was a lovely opportunity I hope to partake in again!  I don't have images of these events to post here because the paintings sold at the events, but that's a good thing!

Stillwater is such a cozy , charming little town.  I just love wandering through the neighborhoods, admiring the old homes adorned with cozy front porches and dripping with hydrangeas.  I also love to explore all the quaint little shops downtown, and occasionally enjoy a glass of wine with my hubby outside!

Thus, this painting...I am honored to be represented by Gallery 310 right on Main Street, Stillwater, where this painting as well as a few others of mine are available, along with a wonderfully eclectic array of other artwork and gifts.

If you are looking for a fun summer adventure, Stillwater would be a great place to visit and relax awhile...peak in the shops, wander by the river, enjoy dining outside, or even stay at one of the many B&Bs!

I had the good fortune of painting in the Tuscon area of Arizona this spring and what a great adventure it was!  Not only did I escape the chill of a Minnesota spring that was reluctant to get sprung, but I got to revel in the lushness the desert in all it's glory!

It was with great appreciation that I marvelled at the completely new set of colors I used on my pallette.  Whereas here in the midwest, I often paint with sap green and a warm deep yellow, in Arizona I used a blue green Viridian and a cooler lemon yellow almost exclusively, along with lots and lots of purple!

The days were in the 100's but the mornings and evenings were pleasantly cool.  No wonder people like it there so much!  It was so beautiful to paint the pinks as the morning sun washed over the desert and the oranges as the sun settled upon the mountains in the evening.  What a gift it is to be able to see with the eyes of an artist all the ever-changing colors of the landscape.

This experience of travel has opened my eyes to the uniqueness of a new environment and now I fear the fire has been lit within me that only more travel with my paints can satisfy!

Oh, how lovely to smell the freshness of Spring in the wet soil and see the tiny buds starting to form on my lilac bushes!  It's been a long time coming for us Minnesotans, but perhaps nobody appreciates the glory of Spring as much as we do!

So I wanted to share with  you this painting from my Alla Prima workshop.  Alla Prima means "all at one time", so this painting was painted in it's entirety one Saturday not too long ago when Spring still seemed far away!

This is an exciting time for me, as I have been preparing a fresh batch of new paintings to bring to Door County next weekend.  I will now be represented by Fine Line Designs gallery in Sister Bay, Wisconsin and I am so pleased!  It is an honor to be showing in such an awesome location;  I just read this weekend that  Door County is one of the top ten tourist destinations in North America!

There is nothing like a deadline to get the juices flowing!  It is so nice when this fit of efficiency hits and the paintings start to pile up... a treat I definately revel in as it is not always the case.  And so as I prepare to go frolic at Door County with my husband, I wish you a happy springtime, too!

Here's a story for you.  Recently I was asked to create an image for the First Communion Program at our church.  That was good, because I had been pondering doing such a painting for years, but how do you get brave enough to actually tackle "the Eucharist" without someone coming right out and asking you to!

I knew right away that I wanted a choir of angels in this painting.  And I have been asking God if He wouldn't mind just sharing a peak at them with me so I'd have something to go on... Well, I've been watching for them for years and so far, ...nothing!
 Anyway since I am not necessarily a painter of people, I thought Bouguereau wouldn't mind sharing his inspiration for his painting "Regina Angelorum" with me.  Here's where the story gets interesting.  You see, at first I had a priest in this painting holding up the Blessed Sacrament, surrounded by the choir of angels.  But something was just not right about it and I didn't know what.  I asked many people for their input, but most were just too nice to say anything negative... Until my good friend Cathy came over.  She said she just didn't like it but couldn't exactly articulate why.  And then she was off to Adoration. 
About an hour later I got a phone call from her saying,  "Ann, this has never happened to me before, but God said to tell you to take the priest out."  Halleluiah!  I knew exactly what to do then!  Of course, with the priest in there, the focal point was very tiny.  But now it is as it should be.

And I feel so blessed that even in all of His glory and Majesty, God would care enough to assist me in my little dilema.  He is such a loving Father. 
The other cool thing is that the readings for this week were about the Lord speaking to Samuel, in the Old Testament.  When Samuel finally realizes the voice he has been hearing he says, "Speak Lord, Your servant is listening."  How timely, for me.  And how beautiful it is to hear His voice.

Blessings to you!