MAGIC HOUR

I avoid landscape like nobody's business so I used the plein air event to give

some landscape a go. This is a scene that takes place in my front yard right before sunset. 

The sky is a ball of white light and the shadows are intense - the light doesn't last long either. 

It's a challenge and a head scratcher at the same time. 

 Thanks a bunch!

DOWNTOWN CRUISER

Here's the third painting in the series. This is my favorite downtown bike. 

I've never met the owner of this bike but I see it parked all over town. 

I love the pink and green combo it screams - paint me!

Here is the progression of the idea for my self imposed plein air challenge

 thanks for taking a look. 

FREEDOM FLYER II

Complein air painting #2 

This year I took an unconventional approach to plein air painting. The paintings I submitted 

are still life in nature rather than painting the local scenery.  My goal was to have some fun painting and show

something a bit different this year. I got quite a few positive comments on my unique approach

to complein air painting. That makes it all worthwhile! 

Thanks a bunch and stay cool wherever you find yourself - later MB

 

"BROOKLYN TREASURE"

Complein air painting #1  SOLD

This great old Chevy can be found resting in John's yard 

 on the wrong side of the tracks in Steamboat Springs. Brooklyn was Steamboat Springs'

neighborhood filled with Rowdy Saloons ,colorful characters and a checkered past. 

Hope that link works because it's a fun story. 

Thanks for taking a look.

REVIEW

Here's a long over due review. 

Thanks for waiting.

"PLEIN AIR PAINTER"

This is Deborah Newman painting on Figueroa Rd. outside of Los Olivos, CA. 

I was riding my bike out to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch and saw Deborah

painting on my way out. If you know me - I know you 

 think I'm a fast painter but in reality I'm a tortoise compared to Deborah.

I stopped on my way out to chat for a short time but wanted to get 

my ride in before the afternoon winds. But then it hit me!!!!

Why didn't I record this event with my camera. Luckily she was still there on my way back. 

Deborah was finished and packing up but I convinced her to pose for me and we talked while she packed up. It was great to meet another daily painter and talk about the trials and

tribulations that go with a daily painting practice. Trying to find galleries, staying

on track, not getting depressed etc. It was good to find out that I'm not the only

one out there with the same questions and of course doubts. You can click on her name above to

look at her work - give it a go you'll be happy you did. Her mom was with her

and she's an artist too! How cool is that?

Have a great weekend - I'll be doing some com-plein air painting this week.

Thanks for taking a look - MB

6" X 8"

oil on panel

"DOWNTOWN CRUISER"

Cruising downtown Winnemucca, NV. 

We usually stay in Winnemucca on our way home from Mt. Shasta, CA.

We arrived in town early enough so I could cruise around downtown on my 

bike. Snapped some fun photos, there should be some more paintings soon.

Here's the start. 

Thanks a bunch - MB

FREE ART TALK TONIGHT!

"TUCKER"

Tucker was a happy dog but he didn't appreciate having his photo

taken until he was all tuckered out from a day of activity.

He was a sweet, loyal friend.

Thanks for taking a look - MB

"SIDES - SIDE BY SIDE"

   Studio "SIDES"                        Complein air "SIDES"

I wanted to see what the difference would be of the same image painted

in two different situations. You be the judge.

NEW "SIDES"

painted in my studio - music playing - no bugs

no twigs falling on my painting and no sand. 

I'm a studio painter for sure make no mistake.

Old "SIDES" painted complein air style. 

I call it com-plein air because I complain the entire time I have to paint outdoors. 

I'm a complein air painter!

Thanks a bunch 

I'm painting like crazy just a bit too lazy to turn on my computer to post.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

10"h X 4"w oil

Last week I rode my bike up to Fish Creek Falls on the first sunny day we've had in a while.

I wanted to check out the water flow and see how much snow was up there. 

Snapped off a few photos, answered some questions for the crowd enjoying the

falls - hopped back on my bike to finish my ride. It was a perfect day all around. 

Wishing you all  a spectacular weekend. Later MB

 

FAIRLADY

6" X 6" OIL

1967 DATSUN FAIRLADY 1600

URBAN COWBOY

8" X 6" OIL

This young cowboy is riding "LIGHTNING!" In front of the F.M. LIGHT STORE in downtown Steamboat Springs. 

Thanks for all the comments on my painting titled "Shadows."

 I can't tell you how great it is to be back in the saddle. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - JUNE 7th 5:00pm(sharp) CVA GALLERY

MB'S ArtNotes 

PICASSO

Thanks a bunch

SHADOWS

8" X 8" OIL 

It's been intimidating to get back at it - it feels like I've forgotten

how to paint and I've misplaced my MOJO! 

Have another one in the works I hope to finish it tomorrow. 

Vacations are great but the down time can be daunting on the flip side.

Thanks for following! MB

SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

We're home??!!!

SIDES

This restaurant - SIDES - is in Los Olivos, CA.  I am trying to paint while on the road

and it's not easy. This photo is a bit too blue but I thought I'd give you

Something to think about anyway. My first road painting was sooooo

Awful it's hidden away. Thanks for taking a look.

 

 

RED

RED - STUDY

This is a demo I painted for First Friday, April 1st

I'm going to do two more so the title can be 

RED - BLUE -YELLOW

at least in my head it's something I want to pursue.

Thanks for following - I appreciate the comments. 

 

 

 

There's George behind me on the wall - he sold that night YEAH!

PROMISING

This painting had so much promise and then it turned bad! 

Can't tell you what happened or show you how bad it got - I had to wipe

The entire canvas (after the cow was finished) and start over. It was soooo

Bad I'm not going to show you how bad - you'll just gave to trust me that it

Was bad. I finished the new version today and I'm not sure whether you'll

See that one either. It's been a weird trip! 

Thanks for waiting for my bad painting.

MB

"WITCH'S HAT WATER TOWER"

The "Witch's Hat" water tower is in Prospect Park(known as Tower Hill Park)

the highest natural land area in the city of Minneapolis. The Prospect Park water

tower is one of the few original water towers standing today in the Twin Cities area.

Here's the story if you're interested.

The Tower at 100 

(1913 - 2013)

[Note: The following are notes (by Lois Willand, corrected by Joe Ring) from a talk given at Pratt Community School May 15, 2013 by Joe Ring on the occasion of the Tower Centennial.]

The property that we now call Tower Hill was platted as Tower Hill Park in 1892. The developer wanted to sell lots for residential development on the hill, but the lots were not selling.

PPERRIA, the Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association, which formed in 1901, wanted to have the land used for a water tower, to help get better water pressure for homes. The developer at that point wanted to use the hill for gravel.

PPERRIA proceeded with its plan to purchase the hill for a water tower. The purchase price was $19,500 with a average cost of $47.50 per property owner. This amount would be equal to $3,000.00 in today’s dollars. The purchase was approved by the Minneapolis City Council, which named the land St. Anthony Park Heights.

Another tower had previously stood on the hill, probably in the years 1825 to 1870, as a military sentry tower whose purpose had been to control the caravans of oxcarts that formed by the river crossing at St. Anthony Falls and traveled east on Territorial Road to St. Paul. The oxcarts, which carried furs, grains and other trade goods that came from Canada, (what is now) North Dakota and the Red River Valley were driven by Metis people. St. Paul was their destination for selling their goods because its location was as far up the Mississippi as boats could travel at that time.

Elizabeth Duvay wrote in her journals written between 1845-1860 that her family used to travel from Mississippi to St. Anthony Falls for a summer trip, and would stop for a break at the hill with its sentinel tower.

In 1913, Frederick William Cappelen, a Norwegian-born architect and civil engineer who held the office of Minneapolis City Engineer, was approved to build a water tower on the hill. He designed a Romanesque Medieval style stand pipe water tower that was completed in the summer of 1914. The tower had windows part way up made of leaded glass.

The tower had a caretaker and was kept open in 1915. The caretaker was a friend of neighborhood children and was nicknamed “The Wizard”.

In 1915 triangles greens were authorized at the Clarence Ave and Malcolm Ave intersections with University Ave by the Minneapolis Park Board to complement the uniqueness of the Tower and Tower Hill Park.

By 1936 the boulder with the name “Prospect Park” was in place by the Park Board. The tower was taken out of service as a water tower in 1952, when the city installed high pressure pumps.

By 1955 the exterior was resurfaced and the windows had been removed or covered. Also that year, the tower was struck by lightning. The Minneapolis City Council planned to tear down the tower. Prospect Park residents did not agree with the decision, and engaged with city officials to successfully keep the tower intact. A group of Prospect Park Bluebirds (a junior branch of the Camp Fire organization), went door-to-door to obtain signatures on petitions against the tower’s destruction, and received some of the credit for “saving the tower”.

1986—the tower’s tile roof had deteriorated and needed replacement. The city, mindful of budget needs, planned to replace the expensive tile with shingles. Again, neighborhood activists prevailed and convinced the city it should use tiles for historical accuracy. Thus, the tower roof was repaired with tiles, fortunately made by the same company that fabricated the original tiles.

In the 1990’s, the tower was increasingly becoming a victim of graffiti. In 1995, when the city began its Neighborhood Revitalization Project (NRP) Prospect Park participated in the program through the improvement association, PPERRIA. Prospect Park resident Joe Ring and his wife Susan Thrash began a project to do daily cleanup of the graffiti. For two years they went to the tower daily, removing and painting over the graffiti. Joe and Susan formed a Tower Hill committee, and with funding from NRP, PPERRIA, and grants, undertook major improvements on Tower Hill, including new steps, new decorative light posts, new benches and picnic tables, walking path improvements, tree and shrub thinning for better views of the hill and from the hilltop. Lights inside the tower were paid for by PPERRIA, and the tower is now lighted at night, adding to its attractiveness and visibility as our neighborhood landmark. The pump house, located at the base of the hill across from Pratt School, was also restored in conjunction with the tower’s restoration.

In 1997 the Tower and Tower Hill Park were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A historic plaque was added in 1997 to the base of the Tower, which has helped reduce graffiti.

HAYDEN GRANARY 

12" X 12"

OIL

Have a wonderful weekend. We got some snow we hope to be out skiing. 

Thanks for looking - MB

"HAYDEN GRANARY PROCESS"

Here are 3 process shots of the Hayden Granary 

the final painting tomorrow.

SPUTNIK

This Space Station painting found a happy home last week - yeah!

Later MB

"FRIENDS"

I felt like painting some Strawberry Park girls - I guess I'm thinking about springtime.

16"h X 8"w

Have a great weekend where ever you are and what ever you're up to!

Thanks MB

THANKS A BUNCH!

"DUKE"

Here's my demo painting from First Friday. 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

"YAMPA VIEW"

This is the view of Mount Werner from Yampa Ave. 

12"h X 6"w

This painting is at Center for Visual Arts

837 Lincoln Ave. Steamboat Springs,CO.

Have a great weekend! 

FREE ART TALK COMING UP - MARK YOUR CALENDARS(check out TV link)

             

       

I laughed so hard - I hope this link makes your day

MB on STEAMBOAT TV

OR 

HOW TO TALK MINNESOTAN - NO KIDDING!!!!!!!!!

"CHERRY"

I can't explain it - I needed to paint my favorite truck again in cherry red!

It was so much fun and it made my day.

Thanks for stopping by - MB

"VALLEY GIRLS"

Here are some new girls! I've been in the mood to paint some animals - I thought I had a show

Scheduled for March and these girls would be the stars. Turns out I've been bumped from

The schedule so now I'm not sure where to put these new paintings. They may have to wait

Until summer. I'll enjoy them in my studio. Thanks for taking a look. MB

"TOO CUTE"

                   

Remember Sunshine?

Thanks MB

"PROCESS"

Sorry my posts have been few and far between.

 I've been painting likeMad! Or I am mad???? 

Anyway my computer is fixed and I plan to get back On a posting schedule soon. 

I drew this composition last year and never knew how to approach the idea.

As you can see I started at the top and I'm working my way down

Instead of the left to right approach. In fact the last couple of 

Paintings I've completed were approached in this way - so much

For best laid plans!?!

 Thanks for taking a look and have a fabulous weekend - MB

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

As I searched out better images of the paintings, I realized I had been surprised because I had thought of Andy Warhol’s serial Pop Art portraits as an “obvious” critique on consumerism that, “therefore”, merited little sustained interest in the pieces themselves. It never occurred to me to sit with a Warhol piece like I do with other pieces, spending time just looking and waiting and paying attention and enjoying the window that the artist had framed for me.  Now, I did.   I treated Warhol’s art like–well–art, and I learned some things.

MARCH 8 - 5pm(sharp) - 5:45pm

Center for Visual Arts

837 Lincoln Ave.

ANDY WARHOL(A)  

A talk about Andy - his life and his art!

Hope you can make it - it could change everything.

More later MB

"THE BARN - STRAWBERRY PARK"

Kakela's barn in Strawberry Park in the winter. I've always wanted to paint this barn and thought

winter was the perfect time to show off the red barn in the fields of snow. This painting is

 a bit different for me but you know how much I like a challenge. 

Thanks for taking a look. MB

"THINGS GO BETTER II"

30" X 30" 

Oil on canvas

"Things Go Better II"

Now showing at the Steamboat Springs Arts Council

February 5 - 27

If you get a chance stop in and see the show

I leave everything up until the next day to decide whether it's 

finished or not. I was happy with the result the next day 

I ordered a frame and the rest is history. 

Thanks for taking a look - MB

"PROCESS - THINGS GO BETTER II"

Here's the next day - I usually don't add the background color till

the end but for some reason it felt right to do it all at the same time. 

I used a palette knife instead of a brush

(tried a brush first but didn't like the results so I got out my knife because I

wanted to create a different texture for the surrounding color - I thought it would add 

some interest I didn't think there needed to be any more brush work 

because there was plenty of action on the surface of the coke bottles).

Thanks for taking a look!

Andy Warhol my hero 

"PROCESS - THINGS GO BETTER II"

Here's how this painting got started. I knew the Palette show deadline was coming and

I like to have a new painting for the show. The idea is to display the five senses through

The painting(sight) - smell - touch - sound and taste. Well the sight part is easy it's fitting

In the rest that can cause some anxiety. I had been thinking about Andy Warhol a lot

Lately and had his books on my table. He has a great coke quote - I'll try to

Upload that tomorrow.  I always have a coke bottle around but what

About the sound and taste portion of the display. Then the Sam Cooke song "Having a Party"

Popped into my head and my problems were solved. The line in the song 

"The cokes are in the icebox - the popcorn's on the table...."

The project was complete in my head now all I had to do was paint.

Of course it's never that straight forward but that's how the painting was created.

Andy Warhols coke bottles were green - that's why my first one is green(originally I thought

They would all be green) but Visually I had to change that idea so I added purple and red before I put the painting To bed for the night. I like to walk into the studio the next day with a plan 

And try not to obsess tooooo much!

Whew - thanks a bunch!

"THINGS GO BETTER II"

Here's the start to my new piece for the Palettes show at the Depot.

 I'm trying this post on my i pad - just to mess with my head and 

Learn something new. We'll see how it goes. It's always good

To have a plan. Thanks for waiting - MB