Life on the Lake

Life on the Lake__10 x 12 oil on linen panel___sold
I wish this was MY lake, but it's a special place for my cousin, Jeff and his wife, Tricia... Here is what Tricia says about the place!
"This is my aunt and uncles cabin in Emily, Minnesota on Rogers Lake..... we always have a blast when we're there. My aunt and uncle call it "The Sweet Spot" It's a small, quiet, clean lake with a lot of wildlife. One of my favorite things to do is sit on the dock and watch the eagle and her babies that have a nest real near by. Jeff actually rests while we're up there too, which he's not very good at doing at home."

*** SUMMER PAINTING WORKSHOPS...we have room for just a few more!
June 13-15 2011
Fredericksburg Artists School
Plein Air Color – Capturing the Impression Quickly ...or Painting and Sketching, Every Day (…and what to do with all those field studies!) http://www.fbgartschool.com/ for info and to register...hurry, it's almost full!

June 18- A one-day workshop, Smithville, TX... GREAT for beginners or "rusty" artists. Learn how to manage oil paints and the basics of painting quickly and impressionistically.

Oct 8-10
Workshop at Bone Creek, David City, NE ...in conjunction with the opening of my solo show

Passing America: The Great Plains in Lincoln, NE

St Cloud, MN

St Cloud, Minnesota__6x8 oil on linen panel___for Passing America exhibit in October 2011
This little sketch was painted just outside of St. Cloud, MN, while Passing America...it was almost midnight, the moon was full, but in and out of hazy clouds. The little farmhouse was blanketed with a recent snow, but the glow of the lights reminded me of the many nights I woke at our farm, to see lights on and tractors being moved for the day's work on our farm.
My southern eyes had trouble adjusting to these new colors of night in the great white north....Hey Rhonda, this is what "I saw" when I smooshed those three colors onto this first canvas of many! Of course I tweaked it when I got home. Thank you for being polite when I showed it to you before the tweaking!

I have been planning this trip for over a year, and now it's DONE! The "northern leg" of my Great Plains adventure came off without a (major) hitch, and was WAY MORE than I could have hoped for! Get ready, because I am about to post A LOT of works from this journey, and the great stories to go with them!
The sketch above was my first painting while passing this part of America. I flew to Minneapolis, MN last Tuesday, and my aunt Yvonne and cousin Jeff and his wife Tricia met me at the airport and brought me to St. Paul....what a WONDERFUL time we had, catching up on old family stories and telling NEW ones! (I have a very large Italian family, so we talked nonstop for about 5 hours and did not make a dent in the news!...I NEED TO GO BACK!) ...cousin Paul came to visit and I was in hog heaven, enjoying Italian food for both lunch AND DINNER that day!...After a little drama with my cell phone, Aunt Yvonne then brought me to the Amtrak station to meet an old buddy, Rhonda, and we took the 11:15 Empire Builder west toward Montana....I will continue the journal tomorrow...