Ramps

 It was a beautiful day, and I was so happy to get out into it. Walking along the edge of the woods I spotted one little ramp plant. A little farther on, a whole patch! I know they have a short season, and decided that's what I would paint today. A little piece of April in this north-facing woods.

Just finishing up.

Ramps, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

Solo Show - Photos

 Some photos of my show that's currently hanging in the Depot Gallery in Red Wing, Minnesota. It's up through May 11, 2015 - stop by and see it if you're in the area!

Clouds and trees, plein air and studio paintings.

Portrait of the Home Place, Patchwork Fields, and Overlook.

Autumn represented by "Poplars at Dusk", "Northeast Bluffside in November", and "A Favorite Haunt".

Barn Bluff, Farm in the Fog, and Maple Leaves.

Puerto Rico corner!

Pristine and Goldenrod, Sundown, and Firewood after the Storm.

Portraits.

In the gift gallery hangs "Anvil Cloud at Sunset" and a selection of greeting cards.

All images copyright 2015 Hannah C. Heyer.

The Picnic Place

I had a few more challenges than usual when I went out painting today.

The Picnic Place, 14 x 11" oil on stretched linen.

1. A bigger canvas than I usually use for plein air painting. I'm out of panels, and my next order hasn't arrived yet, so I used an 11 x 14" stretched canvas I had on hand.

2. I forgot most of my good brushes. I washed a bunch of them out after painting yesterday, and forgot them by the sink. I had to use old, rather worn out ones that I still had in my kit.

3. This dog.

 I love her and all, but she's not the brightest or best behaved little thing. She's extra colorful now. In between chasing squirrels, she suddenly decided to do a little dance on my palette. >_<

She's not sorry.

March

March, in paint:

Muddy Tuesday, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 10

I enjoyed the first real thaw of spring, and went out painting without snowpants and winter boots.

March Thaw, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 11

I spent too much time wandering around in the woods before setting up to paint this one, but it was spring-like, and lovely. I had to paint more quickly as a result. The sun was so warm that the patches of snow changed shapes from when I began the painting to when I'd finished - just over an hour later.

Brown Fields and Old Snow, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 12

The sun looked warm, but the wind was out of the east and felt very cold. Only a little snow remained in the roadside ditches and low spots in the brown fields.

March Picnic, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 14

Another quick one! It was a great day for an early spring picnic. I took the opportunity to sketch my companions in paint, before the littlest had to go for a nap, and the others got too cold.

Lined Faces, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard, March 21

I've already written about this one. There was a good reason it felt so cold that day - snow was coming! We got about eight inches, and another little stretch of winter to make spring even more welcome when it would come to stay.

The Day the Cows went to Town

The Day the Cows Went to Town, 12 x 16", oil on linen/hardboard

Author John Gould wrote: “Heifers at large have a mind of their own – which is the same as no mind at all. No man can look at a cow and tell when she will run, where she will run, or how far she will go.” 

It was supposed to be a simple thing: driving a few heifers across the road. I stood in this field, waiting for them to be driven my way, and soaked in the view of beautiful winter sunshine, blue shadows, and red outbuildings. Soon the chase was on, the pasture snow was torn up with footprints of man and beast, and the heifers never did make it across the road- although they did run ON it for a while, making it nearly a mile to the nearest little town.

I went back another day with my sketchbook and did some scribbling of the scene, which later became this painting.

April Wilderness

April Wilderness, 9 x 12" oil on linen/hardboard. April 2, 2015

My sister introduced me to this place, a steep and textured landscape on top of a Wisconsin bluff, crisscrossed with trails. I'm sure it's beautiful in summer, but I wanted to paint it now, while it's still in the subdued colors of early spring, before the new greens have overcome the old browns.
 When I began painting, the sun shone, and there were more pronounced shadows that showed off the contours of the land. But the clouds moved in and the scene was much darker and the light flatter by the time I called it quits.
 It was also very windy. Before I began to paint, my panel had already taken flight once, and my easel did a half somersault. I lowered my easel and sat to paint instead, which helped. But the wind made it much harder to stay warm. The weather, it seems, hasn't settled yet on whether it should still be winter or if spring is truly here.

Solo Show

I'm having a show!

I've been working so hard these last months getting ready. Lots of painting, figuring out new framing sources, more painting, varnishing, framing, turning screws, twisting wire, late nights.
 On Monday I delivered my work to the Depot Gallery in Red Wing, MN, and they took it from there. The show is now hung and open to the public. Some paintings have already found news homes!
 Here are a few new pieces that are in the show:

Sprouting Grass Moon, 18 x 24", oil on linen/birch

Crib and Kitchen, 20 x 16", oil on linen/birch

Poplars at Dusk, 18 x 24", oil on linen/birch