Monthly Archives: April 2007

Ruby Crowned Kinglet


I guess it was a couple of years ago now that Holly and I were going into the Bluewater Cafe in Grand Marais. The city had put out wooden planter boxes, and we noticed a little bird perched there right in front of the restaurant entrance. Holly picked it up and it perched on her finger for a while. Someone passed by and identified the bird. It was so beautiful with that vibrant crown. Before long, it flew away toward the harbor. That’s the experience that this painting brings to mind for me. Songbirds are like little jewels, and it’s really amazing to see them close up. This painting is acrylic on a 12×12 canvas

Downy Woodpecker


Last fall I posted a photo of a Downy Woodpecker on my dying birch tree. I’ve just done two Downy paintings along with a few other local birds. Once the old caboose is moved away, I’m afraid that old birch has to be taken down so it doesn’t fall on my house. I’ll miss seeing the woodpeckers. This is acrylic on a 10×10 canvas.

Downy Woodpecker


Last fall I posted a photo of a Downy Woodpecker on my dying birch tree. I’ve just done two Downy paintings along with a few other local birds. Once the old caboose is moved away, I’m afraid that old birch has to be taken down so it doesn’t fall on my house. I’ll miss seeing the woodpeckers. This is acrylic on a 10×10 canvas.

Bluewater Cafe Map


For the last several days, I’ve been working on the map at the Bluewater Cafe in downtown Grand Marais. In 1991, wallpaper was stripped off the wall revealing a map of Lake Superior that had been painted back in the 1950’s. It was a freehand map, and definitely not one to be used for navigational purposes! In fact, if the shape hadn’t been labeled “Lake Superior” one might not have any clue as to what it was. So the owners asked me to re-do it. In the years that followed, a pipe or two broke behind the wall, causing damage to the plaster. I returned along with a student I was mentoring, and we did some more painting to cover the damaged area. Over the last few days, I’ve cleaned the wall, patched areas with joint compound, painted out the background to the original base color, and have repainted the whole mural. The photo on this post shows what the map looked like before starting this latest incarnation of the Bluewater Map.

Bluewater Cafe Map


For the last several days, I’ve been working on the map at the Bluewater Cafe in downtown Grand Marais. In 1991, wallpaper was stripped off the wall revealing a map of Lake Superior that had been painted back in the 1950’s. It was a freehand map, and definitely not one to be used for navigational purposes! In fact, if the shape hadn’t been labeled “Lake Superior” one might not have any clue as to what it was. So the owners asked me to re-do it. In the years that followed, a pipe or two broke behind the wall, causing damage to the plaster. I returned along with a student I was mentoring, and we did some more painting to cover the damaged area. Over the last few days, I’ve cleaned the wall, patched areas with joint compound, painted out the background to the original base color, and have repainted the whole mural. The photo on this post shows what the map looked like before starting this latest incarnation of the Bluewater Map.