Lone Prairie Shop

Lost down here.

2009-03-18T20:15:00.009-05:00

This painting is part of a self-portrait series; it is the second in the series.

Read more about this painting here.

Media: Acrylic, pencil, on Masonite board with collage background made from aviation sectional map.
Finishing: This painting is unframed.
Size: 11" x 17"

Price: $425

Hope is killing me.

2009-01-07T20:34:00.005-06:00

This painting is part of a self-portrait series; it is the first in the series.

Read more about this painting here.

Media: Acrylic, pencil, on Masonite board with faux gold leaf accents.
Finishing: This painting comes in an aged wooden frame.
Size: 12" x 20"

Price: $425

Hello My Name Is Journal.

2008-09-01T09:32:00.001-05:00

This journal has been purposefully defaced.

I bought a composition book with wonderful interior paper made of sugar cane fibers, and then covered the book inside and out with what you see here. Something about those innocuous "Hello my name is" stickers that has always piqued my interest.

The interior paper is a nice writing surface, and the lines on the paper are printed in muted brown ink so as not to be too heavy and distracting visually.

See inside cover | See back cover

Price: $12

The street.

2008-08-27T21:23:00.007-05:00

I painted this on something called "Aquabord", a museum-quality board with a specially coated surface that is meant for watercolor painting.

This is a hardboard panel, 1/8" thick, 5 x 7. It was a bit of an experiment in materials and techniques. I added some additional light graphite marks.

Frankly, I'm not sure what I think of the surface or the way it handles the paint, but the end result is pleasing enough. The packaging says you don't need to cover the painting with glass, and that the final result is ready to frame.

So, if you're into street scenes of mediocre sentimentality and not too much visual noise, this is your painting.

Price: SOLD

The capitol sketches.

2008-08-19T18:43:00.002-05:00

You can buy original sketches of the North Dakota capitol (at a really reasonable price!!) by simply visiting this page.

Flowers in the Cream Can.

2008-07-28T16:28:00.006-05:00

This is one of my favorite watercolor paintings. The same subject can be seen here, but as an ink drawing instead.

The visual texture seen in the black cream can was from bits of grass that I brushed across the still-wet paint. I painted this sitting on the grass in the front yard.

Materials: Watercolor on heavy paper
Size: approx. 22" X 40"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat; let me chose print number from series
Price: $65

Brushes and Bottle.

2008-07-28T16:22:00.003-05:00

Sooner or later, when desperate for material, every artist draws something from their studio.

Kind of a self-portrait, in a way.

Materials: Charcoal, watercolor and gesso on cold-press watercolor paper
Size: approx. 15" X 20"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $25

Noah.

2008-07-28T16:17:00.004-05:00

This is a commissioned portrait of a dog. The background uses a lot of gold and metallic paint, particularly in the under-painting stage, which doesn't really show well in this image.

You can read more about this little fellow here.

Materials: Acrylic on paper
Size: 22" X 30"
Price: SOLD

Lighthouse.

2008-07-28T16:01:00.003-05:00

I was commissioned to create a painting based on the lighthouse logo of Brady Consulting, a Minnesota-based company from the Minneapolis area.

Materials: Acrylic on heavy rag paper
Price: SOLD

Woman Sewing.

2008-07-28T15:53:00.003-05:00

I based this image on a few old photographs of a relative. I combined one photo's background, and pulled in the figure from another.

At one time I had done a lot of charcoal drawing, but it had been a while and so I decided to delve back into it and get a little practice with this drawing.

Charcoal is one of my favorite mediums to work with, since it allows not only possibilities with line work as well as shading through smudging, but works well as a gray wash with the addition of water.

Materials: Charcoal on heavy paper
Size: approx. 11" X 15"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $25

Russ and Janet

2008-07-28T15:41:00.003-05:00

My sister Janet wanted me to caricature her and her husband for their wedding album. I don't know why...but I was happy to oblige.

I've never been one to do a lot of caricatures, so this was a new experience, but it actually does look like them.

Materials: Ink drawing on paper
Price: NFS

Nica Boy.

2008-07-28T15:20:00.003-05:00

This is a painting of a young boy from Nicaragua. It is based on a photo I took during the February 2008 trip.

You can read more about the organization I'm a part of, and the trips, here.

Materials: Watercolor on heavy cotton rag paper
Size: approx. 7" X 10.5"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $35

Jimi.

2008-07-28T15:13:00.003-05:00

I whipped this out on a scrap of paper, and so the corner tear you see is -- yes -- actually torn.

It was mainly an experiment in materials, prior to doing a larger work.

Materials: Charcoal, gesso, acrylic mediums, watercolor
Size: approx. 7" X 9"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $30

Weight.

2008-07-28T15:06:00.004-05:00

Using scraps from a friend's prints (which she had torn up and was about to dispose of when I asked if I could have them) and various materials, this collage painting came to be.

I bet you'd like me to tell you the story behind it.

Tough bet.

Materials: Charcoal, acrylic, gesso, acrylic mediums, collage
Size: approx. 22" X 30"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat, possibly rolled in a protective tube
Price: $60

Emmet and Jenny.

2008-07-28T15:01:00.005-05:00

This was a commissioned piece based on a few photographs and a request to put them together to show the small child and the dog looking out across the yard.

Obviously, the dog was not actually blue, but the client requested certain color elements and favored the bright, broad-stroked style of some of my other dog portraits.

Materials: Acrylic on heavy cotton rag paper
Size: approx. 22" X 40"
Price: SOLD

Cody and Elmo.

2008-07-28T14:48:00.003-05:00

My nephew Cody (who is now much, much older than he was when I drew this image) loved Elmo. This image is based on a photograph.

For his fourth birthday, I bought him a huge Elmo. My sister was worried that he'd be a bit frightened when he pulled the monstrous red thing from the box, but, as you see, he wasn't.

This image is a good example of what my take on commissioned work would look like.

Materials: Ink, watercolor and gesso on heavy paper
Size: approx. 22" X 40"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat, possibly rolled in a protective tube
Price: $75

Red Gothic Barn.

2008-07-28T14:43:00.002-05:00

There is a wonderful Gothic-roofed red barn at my grandfather's farm. I've taken many photographs of it.

I painted this on a cool autumn day, setting up my easel and drawing board in front of the barn amidst some very annoying flies.

But it was still a lot of fun to paint.

Materials: Oil paint and oil pastel on heavy gesso-covered cotton rag paper
Size: 11" X 15"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $65

Porch Swing.

2008-07-28T14:39:00.003-05:00

I have always hoped that someday, if I ever had my own house, it would have a porch on it. A porch swing would be even better. But I'd take a porch.

I really want a porch.

Anyway.

This watercolor painting was done as an illustration for someone. It's based on a photo I took of a house in Park River, North Dakota. I knew I needed an image of a house with a porch swing, since the illustration had to show that. When I drove through Park River and caught sight of the perfect porch, I knew I had to stop.

Materials: Watercolor and charcoal on heavy rag paper
Size: 11" X 15"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $65

Strange Old House.

2008-07-28T14:35:00.003-05:00

I like to draw strange houses.

I don't know what else to tell you about this painting.

Obviously, it's a strange house.

Materials: Acrylic painting on unbleached heavy cotton rag paper
Size: approx. 11" X 12"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $40

Old Barns.

2008-07-28T14:27:00.004-05:00

These are the same buildings as seen in this print, painted while outside in front of the buildings, during a smoky autumn day.

This was a bit of an experiment, using oil paint on gesso-covered paper. I found a lot of pleasure in pushing the paint around and worrying less about details as opposed to blocked areas of color or texture.

Materials: Oil paint and oil pastels on heavy cotton rag paper
Size: 11" X 14"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $65

House Church.

2008-07-28T14:19:00.005-05:00

This mixed media painting was done for a charity event in which artists were asked to donate work for a silent auction.

I was on the waning end of my house-drawing motif, which you can see sprinkled throughout my work.

Materials: Charcoal, gesso, acrylic on masonite
Price: SOLD

Hampden Main Street (back then).

2008-07-28T14:06:00.003-05:00

This is a watercolor I did for the Hampden Centennial in 2004. I sold prints of it; the original is actually "owned" by my mother who insists on keeping it.

The image is based on an old photograph of the main street, circa 1904.

Materials: Watercolor on paper
Price: SOLD

Kati's House.

2008-07-28T13:59:00.002-05:00

I love architecture and drawing buildings, which ended up being a great combination during a trip to Germany.

The homes from southern Germany had the wonderful half-timbers and traditional elements that I only see here in North Dakota at...Super 8 hotels.

Which is completely sad.

It's much better to go to Germany and see the real thing.

Materials: Acrylic painting on paper
Size: 7" X 10.5"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat; let me chose print number from series
Price: $50

Yellow Doorway.

2008-07-28T13:51:00.003-05:00

During a class in which I was trying to get my students to not spend inordinate amounts of time on detailed under-drawings that would be quickly covered by paint, I decided to show instead of tell.

This was the resulting painting, one in which I painted straight on the canvas board and did not layout any drawing or guide beneath. I wanted them to experience painting in an almost sketch-like manner.

Materials: Acrylic on canvas board
Size: 11" X 14"
Other: Shipped with simple wood frame, no glass covering
Price: $65

Chicken Coop.

2008-07-28T13:42:00.003-05:00

This is a simple pen drawing done at the same time as this one.

The building, now in some disrepair, was the chicken coop. I was once chased by a rooster when I was little, and to this day take special delight in the memory of a windstorm blowing the door off of the coop and onto the rooster.

Flattened.

Materials: Ink drawing on heavy rag paper, unbleached
Size: approx. 9" X 6"
Other: Shipped without frame or mat
Price: $65