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.

This was a doodle that I scribbled out yesterday while I was thinking of something else.

This was a doodle that I scribbled out yesterday while I was thinking of something else.

Still working on this one, too. This is really in its very early stages, but I thought I’d post it anyway. We’ll see how it goes, and maybe I’ll post the finished piece later. It’s 24×36, acrylic on canvas. The Grand Marais harbor is one of my favorite places.

Still working on this one, too. This is really in its very early stages, but I thought I’d post it anyway. We’ll see how it goes, and maybe I’ll post the finished piece later. It’s 24×36, acrylic on canvas. The Grand Marais harbor is one of my favorite places.

Another work in progress, these two canvases measure 18″x24″ each.

Another work in progress, these two canvases measure 18″x24″ each.

This is a work in progress. When I paint, sometimes it’s like a dream the way things appear unexpectedly, yet are visions that lurk in my subconscious. It’s also kind of like looking for pictures in the clouds shapes appear and change kaleidoscopically. I started to see fish swimming to the left, and then afterwards, I noticed the whippet running to the right in the lower right hand corner. Each of these canvases measure 24″x36″.