Paintings at the 654 Exhibit

January Moon, oil, 6x6, $250.

Frozen Sanctuary, oil, 16x20, $1600.

Cows in the Pasture, pastel, 6x12, $395.

Pasture Fields and Beyond, oil, 11x14, $800.

Haybales and Hills, oil, 9x12, $650.

Shifting Sand, oil, 30x40, $4800.

Snowy Boughs, oil, 7x5, SOLD


Shown are some of the paintings in the 654 Exhibit.
654 Croswell, East Grand Rapids, MI

The exhibit at 654ART/workcottage, will be  available for viewing  until  Jan.6, 2012.  "Six Women Artists: Paintings Inside and Out" is the title of our exhibit. The artists are Kathleen Putnam, Connie Kuhnle, Kay Tiedt, Patti Mollema, Barb Schilling and myself. The venue is actually a work space for business, so it is open during business hours, 7:30am - 6pm during the week. The receptions last Friday evening and Saturday were very well attended with close to 150 people viewing and sipping wine. Contact me by e-mail, Kalinowski@chartermi.net if you are interested in purchasing any of these paintings.

New Winter Paintings

Snow Trails, pastel, 6x6, $225.
framed in warm silver

Winter Thaw I, pastel, 6x6, $225.
framed in warm silver

Winter Thaw II, pastel, 6x6, $225.
Framed in warm silver

New Season, pastel, 9x12, $500.
framed in Black with gold lip

Snow Banks, pastel, $900., at Treeline Gallery - SOLD
Framed in a black panel frame with silver lip and outside edges



Winter is becoming one of my favorite seasons to paint.  I do paint  outside, en plein air, in the cold weather. Although we do not  have any snow yet here in Michigan (very unusual), I have been painting from my reference photos and plein air studies to produce this series of paintings.

Still Lifes with Silver and Copper

I am venturing into painting metal vessels and larger still life set ups. Painting from life, whether a still life or landscape, involves skills in design, drawing, a vast knowledge of color and acute observation.
An artist must continually practice these skills.

Sugar Bowl With Orange, oil, 6x6
private collection, NFS

Copper Pitcher and Cherries, oil, 12x16
$800. uf or $950. framed

Sugar Bowl and Cherries, oil, 5x7
$125. uf or $250. framed

Kettle with Apples and Roses, oil, 12x16
$800. uf or $950. framed

Still Lifes For December

When the days are dreary with overcast skies, cold winds and rain, my mood changes to painting from the still life. The pomegranate is a new challenge to paint. I like little stem which reminds me of a crown.

Pomegranate and Blackberries, oil, 6x6
 $125.uf or $250 framed

Pomegranate and Holly, oil, 6x6
$125. uf or $250 framed

Pomegranate Still Life, oil, 6x6 SOLD

The Apple in Still Life

Ida Red, oil, 6x6, $250 framed - SOLD

Kettle and Apples, oil, 8x8, $395. framed

Pitcher with Apples, oil, 12x12, $850. framed

Small Basket of Apples, oil, 6x6, $250.framed


Living near the fruit belt of western Michigan, I love to visit the farmer's fruit stands. I like to hand pick the fresh harvest for still lifes and then for eating. My apples of choice in these still lifes are Ida Reds and Golden Delicious. The basket was borrowed from Brechting Farm on Six Mile Rd.

End of the Rainbow

Sign of the Covenant, oil on linen, 24x18

I never thought I would do a painting with a rainbow in it, but I just needed to try it to see if I could pull it off.  I worked from some of my photo reference, and used my artistic license in a few places because photos are just not the same as the real thing. I did several plein air paintings of this same lake in the evening hours and some in the morning. A rainbow happens so fast it would be difficult to quickly capture it in a study, so observation is the key. The lake is in the Upper Peninsula, where wonderful things happen in nature.

Plein air painting at Riverside Park.

Creek on November Day, oil, 10x8

Last Saturday the Plein Air Artists of West Michigan (PAAWM) met at Riverside Park to paint. Riverside is a well loved park along the Grand River in Grand Rapids. This creek (I need to research the name of it) flows past the Veteran's Facility on Monroe Ave. and into the Grand River.  I painted just past the small footbridge along the creek. If you happened to be at the park last Saturday, you would have noticed about a dozen painters enjoying the lovely day. We had a group critique under a gazebo. It is always great to see everyone's work. To learn more about this active painting group, see the PAAWM website.

PAAWM.

November Still Lifes (so far)

Bouquet and Milkweed Pod, oil, 6x6, $250. framed

Aubergine and Pumpkin, oil, 6x6, $250. framed

Golden Pear, oil, 6x6, $250. framed - SOLD

Golden Pear, Apple and Mums, oil, 6x6, $250. framed - SOLD


These little still lifes are a joy to set up and paint. I am hand picking the fruit from Brechting Farm. The  flowers are from my gardens and the milkweed pod is growing in abundance along the road. 

More Artwork on Bell's Amber Ale

These are the other four paintings chosen by Bell's for the new Amber Ale collection.

Isa Lake, oil, 24x18, SOLD
This pond is on the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park.  It also reminds me of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

A birch forest on Drummond Island, MI.

"Creek Banks - Spring", pastel, 24x18, SOLD
The wispy light purple of the red bud tree and white carpets of Trilliums assures us that spring is here.

"Shalda Creek", pastel, 24x18, SOLD
A beautiful place in the Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore near Glen Arbor, MI.

Paintings on the Amber Ale!

Bell's Brewery Blog about the new Amber Ale paintings>

Yah! The newly designed Bell's Brewery Amber Ale is available for purchase! Earlier this year, Larry Bell purchased seven paintings with the idea of putting art on the labels of their Amber Ale Beer. The six pack carton has the "Lake Michigan Dunes" painting that was in ArtPrize last year. Each six pack will feature a different painting on the labels.

Lake Michigan Dunes, oil, 30x52

This painting is on the six pack I just purchased.

Sunset Over the Bay, pastel, 24x18

More pictures of the other label paintings in the next blog!

Painting Trip to Glen Lake

Last week, I was invited by Holly to go on a day trip to Glen Arbor to do a little painting. The leaves were still on the trees and it looked like a promising day. Holly is very familiar with the area so we stopped at the base of Sleeping Bear Dunes to paint and then drove around Glen Lake. I was interested in painting Glen Lake, so we stopped at Inspiration Point, and it did not disappoint!

Birch and Sleeping Bear, oil, 8x10

Glen Lake - Autumn, oil, 9x12
Inspiration Point Looking West

Inspiration Point - Glen Lake, oil, 8x6
Inspiration Point Looking North

October Still Lifes

Red Cabbage and Tomatos, oil, 6x6, $250. framed

Pear, Nectarine and Concords, oil, 6x6, $250. Framed

Pumpkin Gourd and Concords, oil, 6x6, $250 framed

Plum, Nectarine and Concords, oil, 6x6, $250. framed

I bought some Concord Grapes and loved painting them as much as eating them.

Plein Air in October

More plein air work during the Indian Summer we had here in West Michigan!

Lake at Ox-Bow, oil, 8x10
Painted from a dune at Oval Beach, looking east toward Ox-Bow.

Cornstalks and Pumpkins, oil, 10x8
Painted at Klein Cider Mill and Farm on Tuesday. One of the last warm days this month!

Farmyard Conversation, oil, 11x14
I have driven by this farm many times and finally decided to ask if I could paint on their property. I will definitely want to come back to this farm. I can imagine how it will look in the winter!

Pasture with Black Angus, oil, 11x14
This is another favorite painting spot that I just keep coming back to!

Maples and Fields, oil, 11x14
The fields are strawberry plants. I was attracted to the shapes and the contrasting trees in the distance. I think this painting could have been more like 11x18. Will have to do another one!

Apple Orchard, oil, 11x14
This was a lovely day spending time alone near this apple orchard owned by the Brechting family.
Painting in a quite place with no distractions is the best!

Leelanau Paintings

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to spend three days with my best painting friends in beautiful Leelanau County. This northern Michigan area is ideal for the plein air painter with rolling hills, water, and old farmsteads. The added bonus was the warm, sunny weather and beautiful fall colors. I hope you enjoy the results of this plein air outing. Some of these paintings will be used as studies for larger works over the winter. If you are interested in one of these small works, I can save one just for you!

Omena Bay in Autumn, oil, 9x12

Little Cove, oil, 6x6
Same cove as below, just a different viewpoint.

Cove in Morning, oil, 11x14
Grand Traverse Bay. I loved the water color and fascinated by the color changes on the water with the morning shadows. 

Vineyards in October, oil, 11x14
This was a challenging scene. The vineyards were illuminated from the late afternoon sun.
Typical Leenlanu land. Isn't it beautiful?

Bass Lake, oil, 11x14
A beautiful gem of a lake just off M-22.

Cove on Autumn Day, oil, 6x8
Another study of turquoise water and warm sand and trees. Love it!