Art Demo! - Northstar Water Media Society - October Demo by James Nutt

I am really excited to do a watercolor demo for the NorthStar Watermedia society on Oct 15th. I am creating this blog for back up information on the materials I use and other things mentioned during the demo.

I understand they have put the previous demos from DVD to a YouTube channel. How cool is that?

Here is the finished video!

These images below are the “Final” product of shown in the demo video. I did three paintings. The cup is the warm up. Then I alternated between the other two as the paint dried.

Everyone asks about materials, especially the paint outside crowd. Here is what I carry and my current - ever evolving - paint palette.

My Sketch Bag - have gone through several and love this bag. My one critique is that it AAALLLLMMMOOOSSTTT zips up with my IPAD Pro (that I also use for drawing and for filming).

My Water color kit. I have tried, and am continually trying so many travel kits, but I keep coming back to this one. This particular kit is several years old and has been to Switzerland and Germany. I wonder how much paint has gone through this thing. It is getting time to repaint the white metal portions.

My current color palette - it is ever changing and a long story covered in other blogs. (or future blogs). I am currently rethinking my reds. I carry a second kit with experimental colors. I was supposed to go to Italy this year so it is currently filled in anticipation of that trip.

My at home set up - storage idea stolen from Liz Steele (look her up - amazing teaching artist and architect doing work similar to mine. I have borrowed heavily from her shared knowledge and color palette.

My Pens and pencils. Starting with pencils…I don’t have a strong opinion…mostly whatever I have in my hand. Pens though….. I have a lot of pens and go through phases.

Fountain pens - I go through phases. I am currently NOT in a fountain pen phase though I am thinking about it again. EXCEPT for these two Sailor Fude japanese caligraphy pens. I love love love these bent nib cheap pens. So much line variation and they are as fuss free as a fountain pen comes. Amazon has them, I don’t know if Wet Paint (my favorite store) carries them.

My other go to pens are Noodlers Ahab and Lami Safari. If you want to try a fountain pen for sketching pick up a Lami safari or Allstar (same pen, one has a metal back half of the body) for around 35$. Wet Paint certainly has these. I also love Noodlers Ahab pens. These are adjustable flex nib pens that are great once you get them dialed in, but they are also easy to completely disassemble.

I like these pens because I can carry two of each kind. In one I put non waterproof ink and the other I put in water proof ink. Sometimes a red ink or a walnut ink. It is fun to experiment.

INKS - so many inks to choose from. These are my go to inks. Carbon Black (waterproof), Noodlers Black (waterproof), Lami ink (not waterproof and kicks off yellows and blues when used as inkwash), Noodlers Cayenne (not water proof and super fun in an inkwash), walnut ink (both store bought and homemade)

(pictures of my inks)

Sketchbooks - I have gone through so many of these but the last few years have settled on these two.

Hand book - many sizes. Lightweight watercolor paper but they do very well. A lot of pages at a good price.

Etcher Studio - Just came out and all cotton. This is my current favorite. Not the cheapest but the quality is so nice.

NEW SKETCH BOOK PROCESS - Carrying cut sheets. A sketch book carries a conundrum. Do I tear out the paintings to sell them or frame them or are they part of a group? As I frame more and more of my stuff or put it in my studio I ahve started to carry an archive cardboard box with precut sheets of high quality paper cut down from sheets and rolls with standard frame and matte sizes already drawn on them. The smaller 5 x 7 can tuck into my etcher sketch book.

(Picture of the box)

BRUSHES - I carry both water pens and a few travel brushes. The photo below is my current carry. I am realizing how much detail I could go into each one. (Future blog posts I suppose)

Hope that is helpful and the Demo went well! I love sharing the stories of the materials and the paintings. Please visit us at the Northrup King Building. Haecceity Studio at Dock 5. We share space with 10 artist and many are NorthStar Watermedia Members. (Most notably Susan Fryer Voigt)

This image is one wall of my portion of the studio. Check out the Northrup King page for open dates or my events page on this site for events and also future classes.

Art-A-Whirl Online

My 7th Art-A-Whirl! THE BIG SHOW put on by NEMAA every year! One of, if not the, biggest open studio events in the country. Art, live music, food trucks and brewpubs……

BUT !!!! This year with COVID 19 packing huge crowds into old buildings and 10 - 15 people in my 8.5’ x 19’ long space doesn’t make a ton of sense.

So we are going ONLINE! NEMAA has put together an amazing system and even helped edit movie virtual tours of our studios!

My NEMAA site is here!

https://artawhirl.curbsidemarketplace.com/artists/james-nutt-james-nutt-dba-nuttdraws/

Of course you can always check the purchase on my regular page here on www.nuttdraws.com

I can meet you at studio or some other pick up!

We Start Friday May 15th, 5:00-10:00 and it goes through the year, but our hope is the flurry of activity is this weekend.

We are bringing the art to you! I took and uploaded a picture of every piece of art on display in my studio!

Here is a longer and more detailed Studio Tour on my new youtube page. - Search Nuttdraws and you will see the interview and tour!

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“2020 Vision” with Gallery 96 - My Juror comments

GALLERY 96 2020

I recently wrapped up BEING the juror for the 2020 Vision show for the Gallery 96 in Shoreview, MN. I so enjoyed the whole process and being able to spend some time with all of the thoughtful submissions. I really enjoyed hanging out afterward and providing critique to those who asked for it.

Our first awards ceremony was snowed out! This last Friday we had the recap. I thought it might be fun to share my talk and comments here.

A very special thank you to everyone and for the invitation.

The theme for the show is “2020 Vision”

This is my overall thoughts and my talk with a wrap up of images of the “winners” along with most of what I said about each.

Before starting the juror process I sat down and scribbled out thoughts on how to judge the pieces before seeing any of the pieces.

I also contemplated what “2020 Vision” might mean and how many different takes I would see on the theme. As I expected there was a huge variety on the interpretation along the theme.

I think it is more challenging to judge a multimedia show. I tried to come up with an internal criteria that would common among all of the medium so we can judge apples to apples. I decided on a historical device to judge what is true architecture and what is simply a building. I thought this would help define what separates a piece from a well crafted image from a sublime piece of Art with a capital “A”. By that I mean something well crafted, well laid out, and touching or beautiful in some ethereal way.

In school we studied a famous architect named Le Corbusier. I think this quote gets close to what I decided to look for:

‘You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these three materials you build houses and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly, you touch my heart, you do me good, I am happy and I say: 'This is beautiful.' That is architecture. Art enters in. My house is practical. I thank you as I might thank Railway engineers, or the Telephone service. You have not touched my heart.

But suppose that walls rise toward heaven in such a way that I am moved. I perceive your intentions. Your mood has been gentle, brutal, charming, or noble. The stones you have erected tell me so. You fix me to the place and my eyes regard it. They behold something which expresses a thought. A thought which reveals itself without word or sound, but solely by means of shapes which stand in a certain relationship to one another. These shapes are such that they are clearly revealed in light. The relationships between them have not necessarily any reference to what is practical or descriptive. They are a mathematical creation of your mind. They are the language of Architecture. By the use of raw materials and starting from conditions more or less utilitarian, you have established certain relationships which have aroused my emotions. This is Architecture.’

In my own work, regardless of the medium or subject matter I lean on the elements laid out by Vitruvius in what is thought to be the first published treatise on architecture.

Firmness, Commodity and Delight. If a piece hits all of these, for me it transcends a well crafted piece and reaches toward the sublime.

Firmness = Is it well crafted. Is there a confident use and understanding of the mediums strengths and weaknesses? Is it well done and polished? Is it solid? Is it well presented and framed well? These are the aspects of craft and quality of product.

Commodity = Does it do its job well? For me this can include a presence and clarity of a narrative. Does it setup and tell a story well? Is your eye lead toward the important elements? Is the piece harmonious? Is it composed well? These are the more technical aspects.

Delight = Is it compelling, surprising, moving? Is there something that draws you in? Does the piece invite a closer look? Does it evoke some feeling? This aspect is harder to score and most relies on intuition.

With this in mind I reviewed the pieces and made selections. I enjoyed every piece and congratulate everyone for putting themselves out there. A different judge would make different selections. The same judge in a different year would likely make different choices. I am always happy to talk to anyone about their piece after the awards. Hopefully that would be valuable to folks.

First Place - Porthole View - Tom Olmscheid - Photograph

I was drawn to this piece originally because of its simplicity of subject and clarity of layout. I really enjoyed that I could be convinced that this photograph was a graphite drawing, or an ink drawing, or acrylic, or oil. It is aggressively simple at the macro scale and packed with detail as you move in. I love when a piece makes me ask “how in the world did they do that?”

I thought the piece was very relevant to the them of 2020 vision and was taken from a clever view point (of a clever viewpoint).

Second Place - Looking Forward to Fascination - Sue Hanson Lieser - Mixed Mediums/Collage

What kept me coming back to this piece was the multiplicity of exploration in this one small piece. There was a visual more literal study in the photography. Next I noticed the colors explored and replicated in found materials and a small abstract painting. And then I started thinking about the textures of the objects, the texture of the twisted copper wire arranged in an organic way. Some how an abstract painting on a corrugated material spoke to me about the blurred background. I could go on but I appreciated what felt like an exploration of multiple aspects, view points, and exploration all wrapped up in a composed collage.

I felt like this fit the 2020 Vision theme in a unique way about what we see when we look hard enough.

Third Place - He Wanted New Glasses Not Hearing Aids - George Martinez Robinson - Intaglio Collage

I felt like there was a lot packed into this piece. I love how the title sets up one narrative, but the longer you look at the piece there more narratives you see going on. There seemed to be historical allegories and legend going on in conjunction with a modern day story. The facial expression holds a great deal of narrative and I can imagine multiple viewers with different takes on it. I was also taken with the incredible craft of the piece and had a similar question on how this was made. The tiling effect reminds me of ancient works and I wonder about each small plate. Or was it etching plate and the paper cut up? I was drawn to the questions of the piece but especially of the craft itself. The more time I spent with the piece I saw more and more interesting assemblages which invites a closer look at the detail of the line work itself.

The 2020 Vision narrative of this piece had to do our physical vision as well as expectations.

- Honorary Mentions (In no particular order and all sat in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes at one time)

Lobsterman - Jeff Cooper - Photography

The craft of the photograph is amazing but the narrative is what drew me in. I had an audible “oh wow”. One of the many successes of this photo is how the piece is so full of detail while still having such a definitive focal point and contrast. There is a novel’s worth of narrative in that face.

Tumultuous Seas Ahead - Mary Cooper - Alcohol Ink on Ceramic Tile

I really enjoyed the extreme landscape orientation and the craft of the piece working with its frame. I enjoy this type of abstract in my own work because I know the artist sets the material up to act a certain way but must trust the medium to do the rest of the work. I call that “letting the pigments hold their council. I can imagine 10 different people seeing 10 different narratives in this piece.

Rowing in the Clouds - Joe Linn - Photography

This was another “Oh Wow” photograph for me. Flying on the water is not something you see everyday! I also enjoyed that the person in the reflection looks like a different person than the non reflected. The choice to print this on non traditional photo paper also added depth for me. This piece has a whimsical quality that invites a closer look.

Roaring Twenties - David Procchniak - Acrylic Paint on Wood

There is so much I enjoyed about this piece. I love how this piece blurs the line between painting, collage and sculpture. I loved the textures and overall color palette. I really enjoyed wondering how it was assembled and what order. I was drawn to the crossover of craft, nostalgia whimsy and perfect scale. I imagine this a piece where you keep finding interesting relationships. I also enjoyed the tie in with the theme.

Other Stand outs - These pieces were not given awards but I wish I could have and I did speak about them

My 2020 Dream - Parul Agarwal - Mixed Mediums

spent a little time with this one and imagine this was a personal journal shared in the public. We should probably all do this quarterly.

Each Side a New View - Paul Gaston - Ceramics

I enjoyed the changing nature of this piece. I could imagine a display case where the light was constantly moving and creating new facades and spaces in the time span of one viewing.

Vice Versa - Heidi Nelson - Watercolor

What drew me to this was a how well composed it was and how well proportioned. I also have a love of watercolor and enjoyed seeing the decisions made.

Bountiful Lemons - Karen Ni Tan - Oil

I was first drawn to the high contrast of the yellow on black. Then I enjoyed the relationship and intentional groupings that almost invite a narrative between the fruit itself. I also wondered if lemons were a playful nod to the theme of “2020 Vision” (if life gives you lemons...)

I will add more pictures as I get them from the committee. I invited everyone afterward to speak about their piece and to show up at my studio this First Thursday to critique my work.

As a fun side note, I did a 2 hour water color demo for this same group a few a weeks ago. I brought the demo pieces with me and the pencil watercolor sold! How cool is that?

My Studio on WCCO Live at 5!

The local CBS station WCCO was live in my studio again!

I don’t believe the video will embed, but see link below for a very sleepy James giving a live interview.

https://cbsloc.al/2PbhkBO



New Tiny Water Color Kits

I have used and made these for years after seeing The legendary Roz Stendhal recomended them at a Wet Paint Demo.

I have a day long demo coming up at Rochester and made these available for the class for purchase. At one point I had these in the Weisman Art Gift store ( so technically my work has been in that building…..so close)

with this kit and a waterbrush I can walk and watercolor. Don’t let the size fool you, I have done huge pieces with this kit.

The pieces I have left I will have up for sale for $20 in my studio and out and about. (Or make your own!)

the Daniel Smith colors in this kit can be found in one of the photos.

I’m on TV! WCCO quick feature on Urban Sketching

Screen shot from the video

WCCO was kind enough to put this piece together on Urban Sketchers at the Fair!

(My best friend said he always knew I would be on TV but It would be to describe the tornado)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/special-guest-urban-sketchers/vi-AAGpXtJ

(I can’t imbed the video until they put it on youtube, so for now the link will have to do!)

The camera man followed me around to get film for about an hour. They put this together and showed it at Live At 5. The interview was live and we were able to get several other urban sketchers on screen. The WCCO crew is so professional and make it easy.

Go Reg! He dug in and did his homework. I was impressed.

Thank you thank you, that was awesome!

Time to make one palette - the start of the Nutty Palette - Version (1 of well we will see....)

(I am overdue in posting this. I am well into using this palette and have been evolving the colors already. I keep meaning to add more details into the blog, but I think the photos speak for themselves and I am going to go ahead and publish. More to come on the actual colors etc as I settle into them. So far really enjoying the kit.)

THe about image are the two kits I have been carrying and using for about 4 years. Maybe three. I am tired of carrying both. Each is based off of color palettes put together and posted on line. The left is the more recent (only 2 years using) from Liz Steele and the kit on the right I have used forever and it is Jane Blundell’s ultimate mixing palette. I am at a point where I want to develop my own but I am using ideas out of both of these (and how I use them).

This is a a prelim thought on what to keep, what to merge, and a general layout that might work.

The above image is the ultimate mixing colors taken from the web. This is based on triads. Which is how I paint, but in the moment I could never remember which was which, but I developed my own strategies and favorites. If you want to start with a real water color kit….this is a truly excellent basis.

I love Liz Steele’s work (an architect turned full time artist) and it took me a while to get used to this one but really love and have kept some most of the colors. She constantly updates and experiments and posts her choices. So cool.

More studies trying to get these to fit into one palette.

I bought this antique palette at a flea market in SW Missouri. I am going to use it. These other two tins have literally travelled the world with me and I will likely use them again.

The rest of these images are at the NE Coffee shop, late in the evening, where I am reassembling the colors I decided to use.

This triple row was a great idea but just a little to wide to let the lid close.

Things have evolved since this picture but this is essentially the layout I am using now.

Pictures from the first few test drives!

Hope you enjoyed this. It has been fun. Much respect to the artist who already have their own colors picked out.. It is intimidating. I have only ever used Daniel Smith, mainly because I choose the first mixing palette in combination with loving the Making Colors Sing book (she also suggested Daniel Smith). I love the colors and for me it limits the choices (which is still a ton of choice…too much)

I hope to keep updating and will do a color layout soon.

A Big Decision in My Art Path - Teaching Sabbatical - A Hard Decision

Evolving Art Path

A teaching demo at White Bear Square that turned out worthy of framing.

I did a thing.... or made a decision. A hard one but I hope a right one. 

Those who know me know that do a lot of things....all at the same time ... and often ricochet from one event to the next. It gets out of  hand at times and something has to give. 

I have decided to take a one year sabbatical from teaching once a week. I have done this for about the last 6-7 years. I love teaching and it has paid a lot of studio rent. Over time the centers I teach at were convenient  but with job changes have become quite a haul. Most importantly this time away is being felt by my family at a time before our son becomes a teenager and still wants to be with us.  I am not doing my own art work. My vacation hours are zapped for  leaving early so I can squeeze a quick meal before the class starts. I haven’t been in my studio to do any work in two months. Also commissions are quickly out pacing my teaching salary in paying for this expensive endeavor. 

A recent class at Railroad Park.

So in order to make more space for myself  And honor my families increasing request I am sad but also excited to taking the year off. Also be able to plan a summer vacation without cancelling a ton things. Etc etc . When I do start up I will likely look for shorter duration workshops and local opportunities.  It would be great to get to know my own NE Minneapolis Arts district and people. Maybe even teach out of my own studio is Solar Arts……but there I go again…..more time for that in the future.

A recently accepted piece into the North Star Water Media juried show. We will see how it does.

I am also going to start focusing on juried watercolor shows locally and nationally. I am seeing a path there that looks fun and within my wheel house. 

I had a most wonderful last class for the year at White Bear Center for the Arts where I shared this. Big support and encouragement and some where students who have taken my class for years. 

It sucks to let the centers know about my decision. I put it off for a long time because I hate saying no and potentially letting people down. Although at the end of the day, I am the only one who knows how much I can take on when and what to put the brakes on. I do so very much appreciate the people and the support. My art path is a long game and different parts will ebb and flow. I just wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.

James Nutt

"Yellow Pencil!" is at the MN State Fair - Vote for me!

The MN State Fair is here! We attended the preview party. So cool to see the big pencil in place and listen to peoples comments. Unlike last year, I didn’t place in any of the initial awards but still over the moon about being accepted.

When you walk in the front door my piece is toward the back left corner. If you are at the fair you can vote for your favorite piece. It that happens to be mine (there is AMAZING work throughout) I would love a vote!

Another commission delivered! Memories in a tree.

Last night we finally arranged to deliver this commission of a tree very important to a families memories of a farm. So much fun!

Urban Sketchers supplies list and useful links

I always talk about providing links to my classes. It occurs to me this would be a great blog! This blog will be ever evolving.

Useful links for urban Sketchers

The rules of Urban Sketching –

http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/our-manifesto.html

The international link –

http://www.urbansketchers.org/

The Midwest link –

https://urbansketchers-midwest.blogspot.com

The local link –

https://urbansketchers-twincities.blogspot.com/

Face book groups

https://www.facebook.com/urbansketchers/

The local group and where sketch outs are announced https://www.facebook.com/groups/390335831061663/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/urbansketchers/

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/urbansketcherstwincities/

My Stuff relevant to this class

My Instagram account where I am most active and even do stop motion videos

https://www.instagram.com/nuttdraws/

My Facebook art page (linked to my Instagram page)

https://www.facebook.com/nuttdraws/

Pictures of urban sketching over the years –

 https://www.behance.net/gallery/11557549/15-years-of-Urban-Sketching

A trip to Switzerland and Germany a few years ago https:

//www.behance.net/gallery/28718189/2015-Swiss-German-Trip

State Fair Urban sketches over the years

https://www.behance.net/gallery/11557187/Urban-Sketchers-State-Fair-2013

A trip to Miami many years ago on an abandoned blog

https://nuttdraws.blogspot.com/2014/02/

The Tools (all of this can be bought at Wet Paint, I am showing the amazon links for convenience and information – support your local art stores!)

The sketchbooks

Handbook series – you can also by these at Wet Paint

https://www.amazon.com/Global-Art-Materials-Hand-Book-Journal/dp/B004BN7V1I/ref=sr_1_4?hvadid=78477704244234&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=handbook+watercolor+journal&qid=1561061465&s=gateway&sr=8-4

The water pens

There are several different brands. I think they are mostly the same. Only get the large brush tip for our type of work.

https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Frh-b-Aquash-Water-Brush/dp/B0017OLHN2/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2O2RVT2WNPUKF&keywords=pentel+aquash+water+brush+pen+large&qid=1561061618&s=gateway&sprefix=water+pens+pentel+large%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-7

Ink Brush pens

I carry several of these and force feed my favorite inks into them. One waterproof, one not water proof, and something like walnut ink, or red ink to experiment with.

https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Pocket-Brush-Refills-GFKP3BPA/dp/B002LJRKN8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=D45OVPPYR1EQ&keywords=pentel+brush+pen&qid=1561061722&s=gateway&sprefix=pentel+brush+%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Great Sketching fountain pens

I use the same ink as the brush pens

Lamy Safari

https://www.amazon.com/Safari-Fountain-Charcoal-Medium-L17M/dp/B00133X1V8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=26AXP69TG6PLH&keywords=lamy+safari+fountain+pen&qid=1561061809&s=gateway&sprefix=lamy+s%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Noodlers AHAB (but only if you like fiddling with things)

https://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Brands-Noodlers-Fountain-15021/dp/B0065QZKMG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=noodlers+ahab&qid=1561061867&s=gateway&sr=8-1

And my favorite (I think this is only available online)

Sailor Fude – thick lines and thin lines

https://www.amazon.com/Sailor-Fude-Mannen-Calligraphy-11-0127-767/dp/B002U0SOLU/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sailor+fude&qid=1561061925&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Water color kits

This is a fantastic started kit

https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-XNCW-24N-Assorted-Watercolors-Sketch/dp/B001OVG40E/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=koi+water+color+kits&qid=1561061982&s=gateway&sr=8-3

The super tiny kits (this is in bulk, but they can be bought individually) Wet paint has these

The paint itself is junk, pop it out and squeeze the stuff you want in.

https://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/1128103/jackson-juniors-miniature-watercolor-set-display/?origin=google_product_ads&msclkid=29c059911ccd1353b13c049af65ccc2b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%3A%20AR&utm_term=4581115203416290&utm_content=PLA%20AR%3A%20Shopping%20group%20-%20computers

More later but I hope that is helpful

Portable Studios

I love making small portable studios wherever I go..... 

One of my favorite things to do...

and then the refill!

Big Pencil Process Shots

From start to finish....while digging rain gardens between drying sessions.  

Pencil sketch first .... hard to see here

Inking is really drawing it a second time. Sometimes i change my mind as I go with the pen. Somehow Prince makes an appearance. 

Inking done

Starting with the bright colors first and making decisions about the protected white areas. 

Then starting the background to keep them in balance. I am keeping them separate from the pencil Moreno this go than the first large pencil just to see the difference. 

proof that gardening was happening simultaneously while the paint dried.  

I paint until I regret the last three or 4 or 5 moves or they don’t add anything new or compelling  

4’ long is hard to get a good shot of so here are a few details. 

Tons of splashing clear water and colors for texture and to encourage the magic watercolor does on its own

Ironing board for storage. Brought it in to work today to scan before dropping off at the framers. 

I plan to submit this to a few shows. We will see how it goes!

New Big Pencil !

48” wide!

A wonderful person at Art-A-Whirl bought my feature piece. How cool is that? Sooo I painted another similar pencil based in what I learned from that one. 

I love painting these and hearing what memories these conjure up for people

The ironing board was just a great place for temp storage. 

What do the pencils make you think of? 

Westminster Pres Member Art Show - 3 1/2 pieces up

Westminster Presbyterian Church has an AMAZING collection of art and I am happy to have pieces hanging in the member show. 3 are solo pieces and 1 is a collaborative piece done with Marcy Conrad Nutt and the middle school youth. So I count that 1/2 piece :)

Rodney Allen Schwartz is the gallery director and makes works of art arranging and lighting art. Whether he realizes it or not he is also one of the encouragements for me to start working larger

This show is currently up until  Sep 9th

We Promise To Support You 22x30 watercolor on 300lb arches

Having a write up makes it official... 

So Much To Do - 8.5x11 inkwash

The First Thing We Touch - 8.5x 11 watercolor

The collaborative piece done with the middle school class.  

Description from the church website  

 https://www.westminstermpls.org/grow/adult-ed/westminster-gallery/

Current Exhibition

Standing Hand in Hand

May 19 – September 9, 2019

The theme for this summer’s exhibition of art by Westminster members and friends is: Standing Hand In Hand and is inspired by the text of the song I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing made famous by the New Seekers.

The artists visualize for us the experience of coming together in community, of being in family, and of standing united for a common cause against repression.

Where do you find yourself standing hand in hand with other people?

I make a terrible scale figure. I am realizing that each of the pieces could be a blog post in themselves. 

I hope you enjoyed the pieces. I loved painting them! 

Nuttdraws.com

draw for any reason

Art-A-Whirl 2019 was Amazing! Thank you

Art-A-Whirl HUGE THANK YOU

Art-A-Whirl number 6 is done!  I can’t thank everyone enough!  NEMAA for putting this event together (so much work), WCCO for the professional staff and visiting my studio so early in the morning, Solar Arts and Mike Schardin and the Solar Arts family for the building and the community.

So many people came back from previous years. That is so very cool.  I sold more of my middle and higher end pieces this year along with many of my favorite sketches.  So good for this stuff to find a home instead of being in my studio that only sees the light once a month. 

The week pays a lot of my rent and supports this part of my life. Even more than that, the wave after wave of support and encouragement is really a huge deal to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone.

I am open every First Thursday of the month from 6-9 if you prefer a much much more laid back studio visit. The month of June I will have Linnea of www.insidetherobot.com.

I have attached the two videos WCCO did in the studio along with a few photos.

Early early morning live filming! How nervous and how cool? The first round with Anna, our interim director for NEMAA.

A screen shot a friend sent me. I look so tired and nervous to myself, but the shoot came off ok.

Easily the best this tiny space has ever looked and felt

This is the second clip. Just me this time and always better the second time!.

MY ART HEART IS FULL….THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Come and see us on the First Thursday in June. More details on my events page of nuttdraws.com

Goofy and kid inspired Paintings

24” x 36” watercolor paper is a big sheet for me. Super fun to paint so large. The painting itself is pretty simple but water based pigment covering so large an area creates it’s own textures. So much fun to do whimsical work.  

I have framed these and put the up for art a Whirl. I hope they sell, but they always spark conversations (and sometimes commisions!)

PROCESS:

See my Instagram page to see a stop motion video taken using my iPhone, a bendy tripod on a dining room table chair, and a program called lapse it set at 3 second intervals. 

click here for the video

 https://www.instagram.com/p/BwqQKDqlsJ2/?igshid=1e1a88jn9bg4o

Both come see both at Art-A-Whirl in the Solar Arts Building! 

Open Studio Dec 7-8-9!

This is a great weekend to pick up original art for Christmas NE Minneapolis from working studios in cool old buildings.

Our studio is open this weekend and I would really like to get some of these pieces in homes instead of on my walk.

This year I have over 90 originals mounted, custom matted, and shrink wrapped to make it easier and cheaper to frame. I am going to put 30% off on all of these and I believe Marcy is doing something similar.

Solar Arts and Indeed Brewery will have food trucks, some music, craft beer, and great artist this weekend.

Come pick something up or just say hi. Your encouragement is a big deal and supports this part of our lives!

Dec 7-8 Thur Fri 6:30-9:00 and 12-9 on Saturday.

Solar Arts Building - 2nd floor by the stairs - 711 NE 15th ave NE Minneapolis - above Indeed Brewery

2017 State Fair Sketches - 5 years running!

A great, and this time rainy, sketch day at the MN State Fair.  This is my 5th year in a row!

With the rain and humidity my paintings took longer to dry so that changed up my strategy a bit.

These images are in the rough order of execcution with the exception of the pig. I put my favorite first!

This is mostly from my new paint kit based on Liz Steele's 2017 water color set up.

The book is 8 1/2" x 11" water color paper. Most of these take me between 25 -45 minutes.

Dreaming Pig

This was my 3rd or 4th drawing in. This was fun because two of the kids who show the pigs had questions while I did the piece. This is my favorite of the bunch and was featured on an MPR post with other beautiful work from sketchers from the same day. How cool is that?

I always start with a Twisted Sister Sausage for my warm up sketch. It was really raining here. Not my favorite sketch (past years were better) but I really learned how the paper and paints were acting will all of rain and humidity. So...it is probably the most valuable sketch of the day.  Certainly the tastiest.

The rain dictated indoor sketches, so this year is animal heavy.  This first sketch was fun because the kid who owned the turkey talked to me a little.  The bird was fun to draw but he wasn't really crazy about me standing there.

This Rooster most certainly was not crazy about me painting him.  I think that is why is looking a little like an aggressive eagle.  Such a beautiful bird. I was trying to stay loose and capture some of the beautiful colors in the black feathers.  It is always interesting to paint in a high traffic area.  You can see people wanting to ask but not ask.  I always talk to anyone who engages me. I imagine if I wasn't 6'-5", 270# and bald I might get more takers. Despite that I generally wind up having several dozen conversations about the paintings during the day. 

I needed to walk around and let these dry. I finally found an open table mostly out of  the rain and did a quick sketch of this musician as the other two dried and received a few touch ups.

Where the rooster did not want to be painted, these two sheep didn't mind being painted at all.  If you look close you can see rain drops in the pre mixed grey while I walked around waiting for them to dry.

The pig was next. I have drawn a pig every year. I guess it is a thing now.

These last two sketches were my wrap up.  It was half an hour before we met as a group and I finally found a covered place to sit.  I typically wrap up with people sketches. This was done sitting with a nice couple who had family showing animals.  I was explaining my kit and sketching nearby people. My favorite was the guy holding the wooden staff in a clear rain coat holding court with a huge corn dog in his hand. So I labeled him "The Corn Dog Messiah"

Thanks to Marty Harris and Roz Stendahl and the Metro Sketchers for organizing!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these!