"Minneapolis Skyline, 2015," is 36x48," acrylic on canvas.  This painting was a complete surprise to me.  I had a side project going with a couple of largish abstracts that were inspired by these sample boards we have in our department break room.  Here is the one that inspired this under-painting.

I didn't really know how these paintings would turn out, just messing around.  Then my colleague said he was working on the art package for our Minneapolis regional office and he needed two large companion pieces for a big meeting room.  The under-painting reminded me of reflections in office windows and it occurred to me I could overlay an abstracted skyline, building on the grid pattern.  Here is the result.  The next one will be of the St. Paul skyline, so both of the Twin Cities will be represented.  :) 

"Gathering Reeds" is 36x48", acrylic on canvas.  This piece is a private commission.  My source image was small and low resolution so I had to improvise the color palette and most of the water in the upper portion.  It's interesting working with photos.  They guide you but at some point, you break away and start doing what feels right instead of what you see.  I guess that's where the "art" occurs.  I really enjoyed working on this one, and because I did it at home, I got lots of assistance from my three daughters.  My youngest, 21 months, actually came up to me and held a cup up to the painting and said, "water??"  :)    

"Welcome to SAS" is 19x26", pastel on sanded paper.  I wanted to do a pastel just for a change of pace.  It's a very different process from acrylic painting.  With hard pastels, you get about two layers of color (which is predetermined by the stick) and that's it, so it requires some amount of planning.  In this piece, I experimented with an unfinished look around the edges, hoping to make it feel more handmade.  It's rather detailed so it took 11 hours to complete.  I hope everyone has a great and love-filled Valentines Day!

The first week of 2015, I hit the studio painting!  "An Apple a Day" and "Morning Joe" are 47x47", acrylic on gaterboard (a lightweight foam core product).  I designed and painted them as candidates for a newly-renovated campus cafe but they found a happy home in a different cafe instead.  I wanted something that would read in a large space but also be interesting up close.  I also didn't want them to be traditionally representational but to have a positive, iconic food-and-drink vibe.  Happy Tuesday!

"Roadmap" is 36x36", acrylic on canvas.  It is from the same drip start as "Inspiration of a Venn Diagram" but clearly went in a different direction (pun intended).  I'm happy to finish the year with this painting and wish everyone a wonderful holiday... see you in 2015!

I call this the "Gridlock" series.  Each piece is 22x15," mixed media on paper.  These started out as like so:

There was no particular goal, just keeping the brush moving and having fun.  We often need series for large rooms or long corridors.  

"Inspiration of a Venn Diagram" is acrylic on canvas, 36x36."  I used Photoshop a few times to make design decisions about this piece.  I often do that to save time (and paintings :)).  Below are the different stages of the evolution of the idea.  I have another canvas with the same drip start that I will take in another direction (to be determined!).  Happy friday!