Prairie Painter - Painting from Studies

 "September Dawn, Little Sioux River"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

"Prairie Painter" is the handle I use for my business blog - http://prairiepainter.blogspot.com - I think it fits since I do paint the prairie out here :) My business is art, and my artwork is painting, drawing and photography. I've been a member of the Artisans Road Trip since the very first one back in 2004...I did take a year off while building our studio here in SE O'Brien County, but have been a constant supporting member and participant.

We've been introducing members and talking about exhibits for the 2012 A.R.T. and I thought I'd change things up a little and describe my painting process when working from painted "studies", in this case a small oil painting started on location, then finished in the studio. These small "studies" are often used as a platform to work from, to paint a larger finished work in the studio.

The painting shown here is actually from a plein air study I did not too terribly far from the studio about 3 years back. The piece was started outside on the site, but had to be finished that day in the studio because the conditions changed so quickly. The study can be seen and read about from that original blog from September 17, 2009 - http://prairiepainter.blogspot.com/2009/...

Plein air studies are a natural step for a painter...first you do small color studies (paintings) on location, and these serve as guides for further work in a larger "finished" painting - done later in the studio.

I sold the original plein air study of this painting just a couple months after I did it in 2009 so I had to work from an image file I scanned of the original 6X8" plein air study. That still worked just fine...I wasn't trying to laboriously duplicate the small original, but instead work off of the "impression" the original piece offered as far as lighting, color and composition. The finished piece is unmistakably done from the original, yet is more refined to reflect my interpretation of that morning...the fog or haze rising off of the river as the early morning, late summer sun, breaks through the atmosphere upstream.

You can see other work I've done at my studio's web site -
http://www.morrisons-studio.com

Thank you for visiting our Artisans Road Trip blog during the year - be sure and check back for more artists of the 2012 Artisans Road Trip!

New Works by Marisa Sidles-2012 A.R.T. Artist

 "Campfire" - © MarisaSidles

Marisa's new paintings are on display at The Wine Bar And Art Gallery in Arnolds Park. The show consists of acrylic paintings inspired by old Polaroid pictures, memories, and expressive techniques.

 

 "Moonboots 1" - © MarisaSidles

She used refurbished materials to create a charming and colorful series of paintings along with little memory boxes. This series has a nostalgic feel and she hopes it will bring joy to all who takes the time so pay a visit to see them.

 

 "Rocky 1" - © MarisaSidles

The Wine Bar is open Thursday – Saturday at 7:00pm.

2012 Artisans Road Trip Artist Mel Myers

This A.R.T. spotlight is on Spencer potter Mel Myers!  Mel makes one-of-a-kind, hand thrown porcelain pottery. His bowls, vases, lidded jars, and plates are hand carved with intricate designs. His glazes are also original. Safe to eat off of or put in the oven, his art work is also beautiful to place on a table or mantel. His works make nice gifts.

Besides the Artisans Road Trip, Myers is active in the summer art show circuit with shows in Des Moines, Ames, Iowa City, Okoboji, Marshalltown, Mason City and others. He has been invited to display and sell his pottery in galleries in Iowa City, West Des Moines and Ames. His pottery has been sold to people nation-wide, as well as to people in many foreign countries. He works daily, so he has new glazes and pottery coming out of the kiln frequently.

Mel enjoys visitors to his studio at 717 11th Ave East. His studio is open daily to the public. His work phone is 7125802529.  Turn east at the walgreen/hyvee corner and go 11 blocks to 717 11th Ave East to his studio. Handicap assessible.

Check back again for more artits of the 2012 Artisans Road Trip.

2012 Artisans Road Trip - First of the Summer!

 Some examples of 2012 A.R.T. artists (from upper left clockwise)

Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath, Joleen Dentlinger, Mel Myers, Judy Thompson, 

Dennis Dykema, and Diane King

 The first summer exhibition of the 2012 Artisans Road Trip starts off with an artist's reception at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, Iowa this Thursday evening (June 7th) from 5:30-7:00 p.m.!  The exhibit runs from June 2nd through June 29th, and showcases examples of works from the artists participating in the 2012 A.R.T. event.

Want to meet and talk with artists of this year's event?  Come on down to Storm Lake at the Witter Gallery during the June 7th artist's reception!  If you miss the reception, be sure and stop by during the month of June and enjoy the view!