Canoe Rack, Lake Harriet; 16 x 20, oil on panel
Painted entirely on location during Groveland Gallery's plein air event 2024.

Down at the Dock
16 x 12 oil on panel

Always Good For What Ails Ya.

Dock Motif, 16 x 12 oil on panel. Painted on location on Little Sissabagama Lake, Wisconsin.

Antique Boat, 12 x 16, oil on panel. Painted on location at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum Diamond Classic Boat Show on Lake Darling, Alexandria, Minnesota. Painting boats in foreshortened perspective—always a challenge. SOLD

Crow Creek, 18 x 24, oil on panel. Painted near Castle Danger, up the hill from the Lake Superior shore in northeastern Minnesota. Btw, Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors has a creme ale that’s to die for.

This painting was part of my body of work for the 2020 Grand Marais Plein Air Festival. SOLD

Cascade Creek, 8 x 10 oil on panel. Painted on location at Cascade State Park in northern Minnesota.

Grassy Shore, 8 x 10 oil on panel. Painted on location at Little Sissabagama Lake, Wisconsin.

Old Chris Craft, 16 x 12, oil on panel. Painted on location at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum Diamond Classic Boat Show on Lake Darling, Alexandria, Minnesota. This beauty was built in 1955 and has that funky bulbous nose, as well as a groovy ‘Landau-like” roof.

Dock Motif, 16 x 12, oil on panel. Painted on location on Lake Carlos in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Temperance River (Upper), 18 x 24, oil on panel. This painting was part of my body of work for the 2020 Grand Marais Plein Air Festival. SOLD

May Bulrushes, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Gunflint Lake Overlook, 16 x 20 oil on panel. Painted on the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota.

Manitou River Falls, 16 x 12, oil on panel
Painted on location, it’s the only waterfall that empties into Lake Superior.

Sun and Shadows on the Stream, 16 x 20 oil on panel. Painted on location in Burnett County, Wisconsin.

Creek to the Lake, 20 x 12 oil on panel. Painted on location in Burnett County, Wisconsin.

Sunny Stream, 16 x 12 oil on panel. Painted on location in Burnett County, Wisconsin.

Shoreline Motif, 12 x 16 oil on panel. Painted on location on Swamper Lake up the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota.

Keep Out of Water, 8 x 10, oil on panel. On a very hot day, a good place to paint is at a beach wearing your swim trunks. Frequent cooling off was essential. I found the hand-painted sign on the back of the bench interesting. Painted on location at William O’Brien State Park in Minnesota.

Jones Creek, 12 x 16, oil on panel. Painted on location in Burnett County, Wisconsin.

The Mouth of the Creek
18 x 24 oil on panel

Painted in Wisconsin, where Webb Creek meets Lower Webb Lake. SOLD

Tucker River, Gunflint Trail, 12 x 16, oil on panel. Painted on location in northern Minnesota. This spot is about halfway up the trail near Loon Lake. It was part of my body of work for the 2020 Grand Marais Plein Air Festival. SOLD

Temperance River (Lower), 24 x 18, oil on panel. This painting was part of my body of work for the 2020 Grand Marais Plein Air Festival.

Wetland, Dogtown Cluster, 12 x 16, oil on panel. Painted in northwestern Wisconsin. The term “Dogtown” derives from the smalltime coal miners who settled in the area pre-statehood. They lacked proper equipment and were simply diggers. Small holes multiplied across the landscape, looking a lot like what a dog would dig.

Lake Superior Glare
8 x 10 oil on panel

Painted on location on Lake Superior near Two Harbors.

Seagull Creek
7 x 11 oil on panel

Painted on location at the end of the Gunflint Trail, up near the Canadian border.

Sunny Creek, 24 x 30 oil on canvas

Rocks and Water Motif, Seagull Lake, 24 x 24 oil on panel

Summer, Minnehaha Falls 2, 12 x 16 oil on panel. SOLD

Seagull Lake Rock
12 x 20 oil on panel

Seagull Lake straddles the Boundary Waters on the Canadian border. Paddling in this treasured wilderness area reveals the amazing geology of the place.

Glowing Grasses
12 x 20 oil on panel

Painted on location on Lake Fannie near Cambridge, Minnesota. SOLD

Misty Seagull Lake
12 x 16 oil on panel

Seagull Lake straddles the Boundary Waters on the Canadian border. This day revealed the beauty of the gray-greens.

Cloud Shadow Over the Pond
oil on canvaspanel, 18 x 24
Painted on location near Danbury, Wisconsin. This is a favorite spot of mine to paint. It has different kinds of character whatever the season and amount of water.

Montreal Canoe
7 x 11 oil on panel

Painted on location on Seagull Lake at the end of the Gunflint Trail, up near the Canadian border. This big, island-studded lake straddles the Boundary Waters Canoe and Wilderness Area. The canoe is a replica of the workhorse of the beaver trade. It fit 10-or-so paddlers and as many 90 lb. pelt bundles as possible. Wikipedia informed me it’s also called a rabaska or Maître canoe. The former is a Canadianism of a word from the Cree or Algonquin inventors of the bark vessel. The latter is some french dude from Montreal who was good at making them. The painting won a “Best of the Gunflint Trail” award at the 2019 Grand Marais Plein Air event.

Early Evening from Lafayette Point, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Painted on the shore of Lake Superior, July, 2017.

Misty Pond, 11 x 7, oil on panel

Quetico Tableau
12 x 26 oil on panel

This park is just across the border. Canada’s Boundary Waters canoe and wilderness area per sé. The character of the rock always amazes. I was told by a geology guy that the exposed rock in this general area is some the oldest in the hemisphere. I told my fellow canoe tripper this, who lives in the very rocky Connecticut. He replied that’s what a geology guy told him about his rock. I guess your rock isn’t cool unless it’s the oldest.

4th of July
16 x 12 oil on panel

Painted on location in the Danbury area in Wisconsin. If there are brightly-colored inflatables around, I’ll paint ‘em. This swan in the lower right allowed me to pull out the Quinacridone Magenta. If I put that crazy stuff is on my palette there may be trouble a-brewin’. This day I demonstrated some rare restraint.

Sunny Wetlands
12 x 16 oil on panel

Painted on location somewhere in Burnett County, Wisconsin. Like many plein air painting days, I just start driving and looking around for something to jazz me. This day I walked out onto a new ATV trail bridge and saw this shadow starting to inch across the marshy grasses. Nice shapes.

Early Evening Light
8 x 10 oil on panel

Painted on location, Des Moines Lake near Webb Lake, Wisconsin.

Ice Out, Rainbow
12 x 16 oil on panel

It was unusual to see a rainbow this time of year when the ice finally melts off the lake. The prismatic band of colors was subtle when it appeared. Lucky me. I thought it was an interesting enough scene even before it showed up. Icing on the cake.

Done Fishin"‘
7 x 11 oil on panel

Painted on location on Lake Fannie near Cambridge, Minnesota.

Rum River
20 x 12 oil on panel

Painted on location at City Park in Cambridge, Minnesota.

Summer Dock and Fire Wood, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Swollen Creek
12 x 16 oil on panel

Painted on location near Carver, Minnesota. Reflections and shadows on rippling water…and a few ticks.

Superior Shore at Caribou Creek
12 x 16 oil on panel (SOLD)

Creek Near Bde Maka Ska, 13 x 21 oil on canvas

Nine Mile Creek Afternoon, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Bassett Creek Light, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Bend in Nine Mile Creek, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Early Spring at the Lake
36 x 36 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas

Wetlands give us clean water.

Midday Over the Island, 8 x 10 oil on panel

Webb Creek
oil on panel, 18 x 24
Painted near the confluence of the Namekagon and St. Croix rivers in Wisconsin. SOLD

Minnehaha Creek Spring, 8 x 10 oil panel (SOLD)

Ice Almost Out, 18 x 24, oil on panel

Sailboats at Sunset, 48 x 60 oil on linen

North Shore Rocks, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Painted on location in July near the Beaver River. July, 2016. SOLD

Point Reyes Coast, California
24 x 18 oil on panel
Painted on location during Sonoma Plein Air 2018.

Little Icy Pond, 8 x 10 oil on panel

Moonrise Over the Lake, 8 x 6 oil on panel (SOLD)

Watering
10 x 8 oil on panel

Wyalusing Sunset, 12 x 20 oil on panel

Lower Beaver River Falls, 16 x 12 oil on panel

Painted on location near the North Shore of Lake Superior. July, 2016.
SOLD

Rocks and Water 2, 16 x 12 oil on panel (sold)

Rocks and Water 1, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Spring Coming, Lake Harriet, 12 x 20 oil on panel

Frosting on the Rocks, 12 x 16 oil on panel

Sun Setting on the Mississippi, 8 x 10, oil on panel
Painted on location just north of the dam near Anoka.

Lake Superior at Grand Marais, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Painted during the Quick Paint event at the Grand Marais Art Colony plein air event. The rocks are part of Artist's Point, a popular spot on the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Cascade River, May, 18 x 24 oil on canvas
Painted near Grand Marais, Minnesota. The rushing water can hypnotize you when you stare at it for three hours.

Crescent Bay Morning, 20 x 16 oil on panel
The surf, waves, and changing sands create beautiful shapes and colors.

The Laguna Shore, Moonlight, 12 x 20 oil on panel

Bird of Paradise, 10 x 8 oil on panel
Not sure if this is a floral painting with a landscape in the background or a landscape with a flower in the foreground. Do you care? Me neither.

Lonely Rock on the North Shore, 12 x 20 oil on panel
Painted on the shore of Lake Superior just north of Two Harbors, July, 2017.

Evening Light on the Shore, 24 x 18 oil on panel
This was our campsite on Lake Three in the Boundary Waters. Not the most poetically named lake, but it's one of the most traveled in the area. It has a number of lovely spots to set up your tent, sit on a rock, and try not to think about how the changing climate and invading earthworms will impact the boreal forest.

Encampment River Shapes, 16 x 12 oil on panel
This is what I saw as I painted: a big organic shape of hard impenetrable stuff next to another big organic shape of moving, transparent, root beer-colored stuff.

Rocks in the Pond, Encampment River, 8 x 10 oil on panel

Tombolo, Superior North Shore, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Painted near Hovland, Minnesota, on an outing with my colleague Neil Sherman. When you paint in Minnesota you learn to paint grays.

Morning Light on the Point, 16 x 12 oil on panel
An exercise in a more limited color palette. Painted on location on the Minnesota River.

Hefflefinger Fountain, Lake Harriet Gardens, 8 x 6, oil on panel
This is a detail from the angels and demons fountain at this popular Minneapolis park.

Last Light on the North Shore, 12 x 16" oil on panel
SOLD

Big Water at Minnehaha Falls, 18 x 24 oil on panel
A rainy June made for a lot of action coming over the top of the falls.

Tuscarora Lodge, 18 x 24 oil on canvas
Painted in the fall along the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota. Beaver knows where to build a nice place.

Napping Boats, 12 x 16  oil on panel
A lesson, or nightmare, in painting  foreshortened angles. I loved the color of the puddled water  on the dock reflecting the sky, so I had the kids get out  of water periodically to run up and down the dock.

High Sun Over the Marina, 8 x 10  oil on panel
This was painted on Lake Mille Lacs during the Jaques Art Center 2007 plein air event in Aitkin, Minnesota. 
 

Sailboats, Lake Nokomis, 12 x 20 oil on panel (sold)

Bateau, 8 x 10 oil on panel
The North House Folk School in Grand Marais,  Minnesota offers classes on how to build these beautiful little boats.

Working Boats, Che kan, China, 12 x 16 oil on panel
People work on these vessels. People live, sleep,  and probably spend most of their lives on them. With this painting,  I wanted to describe the large scale of the boats, the appealing  shape of their hulls, and the hodgepodge of stuff on the decks.

Autumn Sunrise, 8 x 10 oil on panel
Sunrise efforts are always fun because you get out early in the  dark and try to predict what the sun is going to do. As it rose behind me, it “painted”  the trees across the small lake. The light effect lasted about 20 minutes.

Lake Superior Rocks and Water, 12 x 16 oil on panel
I painted this during the Grand Marais Art Colony's plein air event in late August, 2007. The colors of the moss-covered rocks and the transparent water were lovely.

South Beach, Autumn, 11 x 7 oil on panel
Painted on location on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.

Kaaterskil Falls, New York, 20 x 12 oil on panel
Painted on location at one of the famous spots where Hudson River School painters set up.

Pilon at Lock and Dam #1, 20 x 12 oil on panel
1) Thou shalt avoid symmetrical compositions. 
2) Thou shalt never put an object in the center of a painting. Smite me. I broke two art commandments and I like it. How about you? In case you're wondering, those red buoy balls are about 5 feet across.

Minnehaha Creek in May, 7 x 11 oil on panel
The most urban of Minneapolis waterways: Minnehaha Creek, the “Laughing Waters”

Chesapeake Bay Creek, 8 x 10 oil on panel
Painted during an Easton plein air event on the eastern shore, Maryland.

Seagull Lake Rapids, 12 x 16 oil on panel
This was a very subtle light effect. The sun was slipping behind the trees, but still just barely touched the surface of the rocks and water. Painted at End of the Trail federal campgrounds on Seagull Lake, at the end of the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota.

Ice Forming on the Namekagon, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Ah, the beautiful gray. SOLD

Hot Day on a Sandy Point, 7 x 11, oil on panel

River Bluff Near Alma, 12 x 16  oil on panel
Painted near the Mississippi River in Alma,  Wisconsin. The bluffs along the river are about as much elevation  as we get around here, aside from the shore of Lake Superior.
SOLD

Encampment River, Lower Falls, 12 x 20 oil on panel (SOLD)

June on the Namekagon
7 x 11 oil on panel

Sunny Stream, 8 x 10 oil panel
SOLD

McClures Beach, Point Reyes (SOLD)
12 x 20 oil on panel
Painted on location on the California coast during the Sonoma plein air event 2018. The Pixar founder John Lassiter bought it. He’s a major funder of the event, which provides much needed money to the local school district’s arts programs. It felt so primordial I half expected pterodactyls to soar by.

Boats on the Shore, 10 x 8 oil on panel (SOLD)
Try drawing a tilted, overturned canoe viewed from one end. Go ahead. I dare ya.

Sailboats, Lake Harriet, 7 x 11 oil on panel.
One of my favorite light effects is when the setting sun lights the opposite side of a lake.
SOLD

The Island, 12 x 16 oil on panel (SOLD)

Spring on Minnehaha Creek, 8 x 10 oil on panel
SOLD

Sunset on the North Shore, 18.5 x 9.25 oil on panel
The sky over Lake Superior offers a spectacle of weather changes and clouds. This was purchased by a patron as a gift for her meteorologist husband. I’m sure he could explain why the clouds seem to mirror the Sawtooth Mountains that run along the shoreline.
SOLD

Lake of the Isles Autumn, 12 x 16 oil on panel
SOLD

North Shore Rocks and Water, 36 x 24 oil on panel
SOLD

November Color, 16 x 12 oil on panel
SOLD

Bridge at Lake of the isles, 12 x 16 oil on panel
This lagoon, which connects two lakes in the Uptown area of Minneapolis, offered much to paint: canoes, reflections and lilypads.
SOLD

Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, 12 x 16 oil on panel
It was brutally windy when I painted this stunning beach.  By the end of the day, my gear, hair, clothes—and the painting—were permeated with sand. It didn't hurt the painting, but the camera was toast.
SOLD

Aqua Petit, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Painted in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. I loved the challenge of drawing the perspective on this sweet little dingy. It had sneaky, subtle, elegant curves that belied its humble appearence.

Portaging, 10 x 8 oil on panel
SOLD

A Little Island, Seagull Lake, 12 x 20 oil on panel
When I was motoring through this little channel, my outboard's propeller hit some rocks. So I figured this was a good place to paint. Beautiful clouds and a variety of nicely shaped rocks. From this point west (to the right in the picture), is the nearly pristine, no-motors-allowed Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
SOLD

Summer, Minnehaha Falls 1, 12 x 16 oil on panel
A favorite subject of mine here in Minneapolis, I realized that I've almost exclusively painted the falls in winter. Past summers have been so dry that the trickle just wasn't interesting. The summer of 2011 has been plenty wet. We've had so much rain, I wish we could send some to our friends in drought stricken areas.

South Beach, 7 x 11 oil on panel
No, not Miami. Lovely Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. I liked the wet figures coming in and out of the shadows.
SOLD

Sun, Water, Rocks 1, 12 x 16 oil on panel
This is a study of the effects of reflection, transparency, and sun on water.
SOLD

His and Hers, 16 x 20 oil on panel
This was painted during a plein air event in Easton, Maryland, on the eastern shore. My hosts had a refreshing backyard pool that I just had to be near, with the humidity and temps near 100.

Dawn on the Kaiping River, 8 x 10 oil on panel
Painted on location in Kaiping, China. That's east of the immense city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province. And that's just west of Hong Kong. The lovely orange tone in the atmosphere may be hazy and romantic, but it's smog. Funny, the same thing is going on in Monet's famous impressionistic painting, "Impression, Sunrise." The location is the port of Le Havre, his hometown. Monet was celebrating all the commerce and industry going on there. He was proud of the smog.
SOLD

Big Sur, 12 x 20 oil on panel
Painted as the early morning sun shined between the mountains near the shore. The Pacific Coast Highway is amazing.
SOLD

Yacht at Building 4
Painted in Door County, Wisconsin at one of the many small harbor towns, I was interested in the perspective, the scale, and the contrast of this big honkin' thing on those colorful little jacks.
SOLD

Hovland Dock, 16 x 20 oil on panel
SOLD

First Freeze on Minnehaha Creek, 12 x 16  oil on panel
My first venture out in the cold that year, the creek was just starting to freeze over. I like drawing the perspective of the patterns of water and ice fading into the distance.
SOLD

The Trudy S, 12 x 16 oil on panel
This was painted in Morro Bay, California in the morning. I don't have a personal affinity for boats, but they sure offer a fun drawing challenge.
SOLD

Bateau, 8 x 10 oil on panel
This little darling was made by hand at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
SOLD

Cave Point, Door County, Wisconsin, 12 x 16 oil on panel
SOLD

Lake Harriet Water Pump, 11 x 14 oil on panel
SOLD

Laguna Shore 2006, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Earlier on this day, I had enjoyed lunch with painter John Cosby, and he was gracious enough to give me a critique of paintings I had done that week. He said I needed to work on my surf, so I went out and painted this.
SOLD

Harbor at St. Ives, Cornwall, England, 16 x 12 oil on panel
SOLD

Lily Pads, 11 x 14 oil on panel
SOLD

15-Horse Merc, 12 x 16 oil on panel
Verticals, horizontals, blips of primary colors — all sitting on Hungry Jack Lake. I'm a happy camper when I can find unusual ways to present everyday subjects. Awarded the top prize at the 2011 Grand Marais, Minnesota plein air event.
SOLD

Lake Superior Glare, 8 x 10 oil on panel
Somehow the sun soaked through a misty haze out on “Artist's Point” in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
SOLD

Afternoon Light at the Campsite, 11 x 7 oil on panel
This is from a series of small studies of scenes in the northwoods. Painters may find it interesting that I used no blues, only ivory black. It's amazing how cool it tints out.
SOLD

Waiting, 12 x 16 oil on panel
This dog posed while waiting for her master (the family member who feeds her) to return from a boat ride.
SOLD

Island Understory, 12 x 16 oil on panel. Painted on location on Little Sissabagama Lake, Wisconsin.

Canoe, 8 x 10 oil on panel
If you've ever carried an aluminum canoe for any distance, you know what a blessing these Kevlar babies are. Just don’t bash them into the rocks at portages.
SOLD