Railroad Landscape Sketches

Railroad Landscape from the Kellogg Overpass, 7" x 5" watercolor and pen

Oh, the things railroads to to my little Southern artist heart. All that power and rhythm, all that gorgeous graphic design they create in the landscape, all those long miles to explore ... and of course the sound of those big diesel beasts that could squash you like a bug.

Never let it be said that Southern culture has no morbid streak. 

Two Trestles, 5" x 7" watercolor and pen

These are available at $45 (Kellogg Overpass landscape) and $75 (Two Trestles); if you'd like both, email me and get free shipping.

Two Willows (Or, What I Did at Saint Paul Art Crawl)

I'd been meaning to do this for a while and at Crawl I had the opportunity, so I took it (Art Crawl, for those unfamiliar, is something like a pub crawl but with art studios; there is usually still some alcohol to be had, too).

The first iteration is in my pocket sketchbook, and even taking up two pages it's only about 7" wide. I wanted a larger (and unbound) version, so I translated it to 8 x 10" and this is the result:

Many hours and many finely drawn lines later, I had something I really loved. This is pen, watercolor, and acrylic on imported French printmaking paper. Prints and greeting cards are here, and the original is available at $225.

"I didn't know you could DO that!"

That's what someone said to me yesterday. The man's neighbors had hired me to create a set of three big canvases for a dining room wall, and until then it had never occurred to him that this sort of thing was possible.

The canvases in question -- each 40" high x 30" wide. My years of experience as a muralist meant that the size was not a challenge for me. The homeowners wanted an old-fashioned Italian type landscape with a medieval/Renaissance procession of figures, with five banners that would represent the family's five children and their occupations.

This is all oil paint, and the decision was made by the homeowners and their designer (the wonderful Mary Mackmiller of mackmiller design + build)  to keep the colors low-key so that the art would fill the space but not overwhelm it.

Wisconsin in May

My little sketchbook went with me, and my watercolor set. This was a hiking trail I was on; I stopped and sketched the scene in terra-cotta colored pastel pencil, then added watercolor back at the lodge.

Shortly after making this sketch, I saw a Scarlet Tanager for the first time; shortly after that, I discovered that the trail signs became progressively fewer and less helpful the longer I walked, and that I was ... not lost, exactly, but making an unplanned detour in the heat of the day.

Also there were bloodsucking bugs out. I will spare you the details.

The walk was still worth doing, though.

Mounds Boulevard Bridge

Mounds Boulevard Bridge, 6 x 12" oil on canvas

Today was overcast, not unpleasant though. A softly lit day and a grey curve of road that reflected the sky.

I wanted a soft, loose treatment so I painted this almost entirely with a palette knife.

I wanted to stay home

but I didn't.

Downhill to the River, 8 x 10" oil on canvas, $145

Day Four, outside

Cattails, 6 x 12" oil on canvas, at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary today. $145

 This was today at Derek Davis' class. It rained on us for a while, but we were undaunted.

Making art rarely if ever feels "safe" to me. Particularly if I'm making art of a kind I don't usually make, such as a painting of reflections on water. So this was today's first challenge, and the second one will be going back out to meet Derek and the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota at Murphy's Landing (I've gotta Google it; I have no idea where this is) and go for round two.

Across from Dayton's Bluff

Evening Across Dayton's Bluff, study, 10 x 8" oil on canvas board.

This got started last Friday evening while I was out with my friend, Tom Winterstein, hunting for things to paint (the usual problem there is that you find too much, not too little). I loved the way the evening sunlight was hitting the nearby overpass and the path closer to my feet, and then making a beautiful contrast with the violet shadows on the buildings downtown.

We lost our light completely before we could finish, but the thing about standing there and painting a while is that it fixes a lot of things in your memory that you'd otherwise forget.

If you don't have a travel sketchbook, this is a reason to get one, even if you are sure you can't draw. Anything you do draw, no matter how poorly or cartoonishly, you'll remember with a clarity that your camera can't offer. Something about the process makes connections that last.

Old Depot Detail, St. Paul

Depot Detail, 7 x 5" oil on canvas board, at Derek Davis' painting class 6/24

So this is What I Did in School Today. I learned a lot watching Derek mix the colors for this building, and realizing that although it is red brick, the actual color, in today's light at least, was much more ... reddish-violet, with hefty amounts of pink.

I have no idea what this small structure is, on the side of the building, other than "artist bait." If anyone can tell, I'd be interested in knowing. It's the old train depot at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. I stood literally in the shadow of the Kellogg overpass to paint it.

Hidden Falls Park, St. Paul

Hidden well enough, as it happens, that I still haven't found the falls. I didn't make it that far today, my first visit to this lovely little park. There was a tree and the sunlight was hitting the leaves in a way I really liked, so I grabbed my field kit and set to work.

The painting is an 8 x 10" oil on canvas. In the photo at top, you can see I'd lost the sunlight by the time I was done; there was a high layer of clouds moving in. And boy were my fingers cold!

Tiny Landscape with Bridge

Kellogg Overpass, 5 x 7" oil on canvas board

This was yesterday afternoon at Bruce Vento Nature Reserve in St. Paul. That bridge is Kellogg, just south of 94.

It's an equally gorgeous day today, so I'm heading out again to see what I can capture, while I can.

Painting at Bruce Vento again

Still having a lot of fun with the Guerrilla Painter's Box I got at Wet Paint. It got windy and cold out that day, as the clouds moved in, but I finished this cute little 5 x 7" landscape. Oil on canvas board; it'll be for sale at one of the three (!) Holiday Sales I've signed on for in November. Yes, three. This is because I am insane.

The Holiday Sale items are mostly quite small and priced to make nice gifts. I'll provide more details as well as information about which pieces will be in which place, as the dates approach. Meanwhile I must paint like a madwoman so I'll have enough inventory!

Sunlit Little Landscape

Back at Bruce Vento this afternoon, I did a quick oil sketch while the sunlight disappeared all around me. Low Branches, 5 x 7" oil on canvas board, is below.

 

The larger canvas on my easel in the top photo is an 8 x 10" that I had just enough time to roughly block in before it got too dark to keep working. The "skeleton" of the painting will help me remember what I had in mind next time I go back, which will likely be Tuesday, if the weather's all right.

I'll have this little piece for sale at the Saint Paul Art Crawl this weekend. I'm showing at Josephine Geiger's stained glass studio.

Painting While the Sun Shines, Part 2

Rail Cars and Red Grass, 8 x 10" oil on canvas board

There are several tracks running through Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, where I painted this, so if you can imagine the clanging, and squealing, and the track-rhythms, and the roar of those big diesels -- four in a row, sometimes, black red yellow like a coral snake -- then you know where I was.

I'm drawing trains more and more lately, and I hope there are enough people out there who like both trains and art to make this worth my while. Because I'm not likely to stop any time soon.

Painting while the Sun Shines

 

Above, yesterday's little panel with the freight train. This was at the end of the session. I didn't stop painting long enough to take a photo until the sun was gone and I had to stop anyway. 

Later, in the studio, I finished the piece but didn't have good light for photographing it. I'll do that today. It took me a long time but I have finally accepted that it is simply not possible to truly color-correct a photo of art taken under artificial light. I always end up re-shooting in daylight anyway.

And here's the finished Path with Dry Goldenrod, 8 x 10" oil on canvas board.

Are there places in your world that you think would make good paintings? I think most of us have them, even if they're just particular stretches of highway we see on our commute. I invite you to take photos (um, preferably not while driving) and post them on my Facebook page. Or tweet me, @TracieTheArtist.  

Tiny Flower Garden

Garden at the Faire, 5 x 3" watercolor and pen on paper

Another drawing from yesterday at the Renaissance Festival.

The humor of this: it was just to the left of the Legends Stage where the Puke & Snot Show was going on. Ribald humor and dahlias. I smiled all through the sketching part, but didn't get to finish it until much later in the day. I enjoyed the cool breeze and some remarkable music while I sat in the Queen's Tavern with my watercolor kit and a pint of good cider, happy despite knowing how soon winter will arrive.

The intricate pattern of leaves and flowers required considerable time and attention, but it felt good to slow down enough for that.

This little piece is now available at my online shop.

Too many dogs to upload now, so have a landscape!

After Bark and Roll, I took my shiny new Guerrilla Painter Box and went out with a friend to do some landscape sketching. Days this lovely are rare and we needed to use this one while we could.

Path with Dry Goldenrod, 8 x 10", oil on canvas board.

We went to Bruce Vento Park, where the light falling across the trail caught my attention immediately. I seem to enjoy stripey landscapes.

Working outdoors, there's always a time limit, and this little piece took ... somewhere between 70 and 90 minutes, I think. It's a guess at best because I rarely know what time it is while I'm painting. The world kind of stops; that's one of the nicest things about making art.

Chances that I'll make a few tweaks to this: approximately 100%. I'm happy with it, though, and look forward to putting it up for sale in the next few days.

Completely Enchanted! The finished mural

5 p.m. on 9/11/11 at Wet Paint Art Supplies; tired and happy with the finished work.

 

See Enchanted Makeovers for more about the organization. The mural will be on display at their booth at the Creative Connection Marketplace on Sept. 16 and 17. Many many thanks to Wet Paint for donating the canvas and paints, and to The Creative Connection for all their assistance.

Most common questions people were asking:

What it's made of: Acrylic paint and a LOT of waterborne faux finishing glaze, on canvas.

How long it took: Approximately 24 hours' work for me, plus a few extra for my Valiant Volunteers. This is LIGHTNING speed for a project this size -- 10' long x 5' high.

Is this a specific place somewhere in the world? It's inspired by scenery here in Minnesota as well as in France and Italy, but it's an allegorical landscape rather than a literal one.

Ghost Tree at Bruce Vento Park

Ghost Tree, about 10.5 x 8", mixed pencils on paper

If you've been thinking of taking lessons with me, be aware that it won't always, necessarily, mean being in the studio. Today was too beautiful for that, so I took my student out to Bruce Vento Park (a short hop from the studio building) to try out landscape drawing for the first time.

He had fun and so did I, and this piece, which began as a quick demo, turned into something I really like.

Monday Mill District Moonrise

Mill District Moonrise, 6 x 4" oil on canvas board

Painted on site; photographed on the bumper of my truck.

This whole mill area (along Hiawatha) thrills me. I love it not just because the buildings are old but because they are still very much in use. I'm attracted to the dusty, noisy energy -- rumbling machinery, train cars, alarms going off, buzzers.

Safe to say I'll be back. Going to need a larger canvas next time, though.