And now for something completely different

Sudoku, acrylic, 24x24, 2009

I worked on this sudoku so long, I had to create a response to the experience.  It was fun to just put whatever shapes I felt like and experiment with various methods for making the numbers.

Pics from the past

Island Lake Fishing Pier, watercolor, 9x12, 2008

I still have not painted since getting back from vacation.  I have been working on school stuff.  I'll be giving a presentation to staff about the art program on Tuesday.  I'm a bit nervous and when I am nervous I tend to use more words than necessary which causes the eyes of everyone in the audience to glaze over which just makes me more nervous.

Vacation Art

doodle on a paper tablecloth, 2010

I went on a 12 day vacation and this was all the drawing I was able to do.  Sigh.  It was a fun time, but I need to do some art now.

More Rocks and Water

Duluth Waterfall, pastel, 22"x28", 2009

Here's the one Jill liked.  Same park as the last post.

Rocks and Water

Lester Park 2, watercolor, 9"x12", 2009

Here is a sketch from last summer in Duluth.  The grounds at Fallingwater in Pennsylvania were similar.  I was wishing I could sit down and paint, but I don't think my family would have been that patient.

More Plants

Side Lake Up Close, watercolor, 9"x12", 2009

I like the purple/green combination, and painting the extra layer of purple to get the shadow and the far away.

Color Study

"Como Color Study", watercolor, 7"x11", 2009

I like these plants.  Does anyone know what they are called?  They grow in the ponds at Como Park.

A Nice Walk in the Woods

"New Life and Old Moss", watercolor, 9"x12", 2010

I painted this when I was at a retreat at St. Ben's about a month ago.  It strikes me as significant the way new sprouts thrive among old rotten stuff.  I tried to capture the interesting shadows, but they changed too fast.

Serenade

Bill at Rest, pastel, 11"x14" 2008

By request, here is a picture of Bill.  He is playing his uke with the Van Halen style finish.  It really is bright blue like that, but I doubt he was wearing bright red shorts and a bright yellow shirt that day.  I made the chair green so it would not stand out too much.

When everything else goes wrong, just go paint.

Grass Lake Shapes, watercolor, 9"x12"

Today while biking, the chain fell off and part of the gear broke apart.  I walked it home.  It was only about a mile, could have been worse, but still.  I almost left it by a dumpster, but it has brand new tires on it.

Anyway, I decided today to put up this picture of a random bunch of weeds.

Can you Canoe?

Patti's Canoe, watercolor, 9"x12"

I painted this a couple weeks ago at a friend's cabin (Thanks Patti!)  This is a little different for me to represent plants in solid shapes like this.  I was going for obnoxiously bright color and hard shadows.  What do you think?

REJECTED State Fair entry 2010

"The Final Duel", watercolor, 11"x14"

My son's friend set these Lego minifigures in this way.  It intrigued me and the shapes were interesting.  I just might do more pictures of Legos.  

Runner up

"Side Lake by Myself", watercolor, 9"x12"

I almost chose this one to enter, but I figured the judges probably see thousands of pretty little landscapes.  How many Lego paintings do you think they will see?