January 2020

Plein air work:

January Orchard, 10 x 10" plein air oil on linen/birch. Sold

January 6: Painting in the orchard. Apples that were too green for harvest froze on the trees and had turned from yellow-green to a rusty red, giving a blush of color to the tangled branches.

January 20, 2020, 10 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

January 20: In the midst of a very cloudy stretch of winter, a rare day of blue sky and sunshine, and no wind. I liked how the light shone on this hickory tree along a fence line. There were few tracks in the snow, but just before I began to paint, the dogs spotted a rabbit and the chase was on. The rabbit got away, and the scene had changed.

January 28, 2020, 5 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

January 28: A small study on the edge of a cornfield on another cloudy evening. There was just a hint of color at the horizon to indicate the sun was setting, and the dry leaves on the corn stalks rustled in the wind.

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From mid-January to mid-February I had a solo exhibition at Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota.

I showed forty paintings, mostly oils plus a small collection of watercolors, which spanned the seasons and meandered through my beloved fields and woodlands.

 I also had a couple of opportunities to speak with groups of students, while painting these small demonstration pieces. 

Demo #1, 6 x 8" oil on linen/birch.

Demo #2, 6 x 8" oil on linen/birch. Sold

Some pictures from the exhibit:

A painting from last spring, when the fields were beginning to green up and the sky foretold a spring shower. 

An April Sky, 2019, 24 x 30" oil on linen/birch.

This piece, of two distinctive bluffs along Highway 61 in Minnesota, was done over several days on location, plus more work back indoors, as I tried to catch the late light as it hit the peaks of the bluffs. The air was cool, and the leaves of the trees were only beginning to unfurl along the highway. I painted to the sounds of the spring peepers' persistent song and an occasional passing vehicle.

King's and Queen's Bluffs, 2019, 24 x 30" oil on linen/birch.

"An Early Snowfall" was worked up from a small 5 x 7" plein air piece done in early November, when a blanket of snow fell over the still green fields and leaf-clad trees of the woods. A beautiful combination of warm evening light and cold snow underfoot.

An Early Snowfall, 2019, 24 x 30" oil on linen/birch.

Done en plein air over several evenings, as I tried to capture in paint the moments just at dusk when the north sky briefly held on to the colors of sunset before fading to the grey-blue of twilight.

December Dusk, 2019, 8 x 10" plein air oil on linen/birch. Sold

This one was done in one of my favorite places in the woods. The steep hillsides were covered in snow, with the afternoon sunlight slanting through the trees and the blue shadows on a neighboring bluff visible through the branches.

Slanting Sunlight, 2019, 10 x 10" plein air oil on linen/birch. Sold

This painting was done in late October, in the pasture, the oak trees nearly at their peak for color, and the grass still green.

The Pin Oak by the Pasture, 2019, 10 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch. Sold

Autumn in the woods:

Towards the Valley, 2019, 24 x 24" oil on linen/birch.

Gold in the Back Pasture, 2019, 24 x 24" oil on linen/birch.

A Walk Through November, 2019, 18 x 14" oil on linen/birch.

"Stille Nacht" began as a sketch one night in December as I walked home in the dusk, the afterglow of sunset lingering, and the moon rising. I knew I wanted to paint this, and did a small watercolor study as soon as I could, and then began the oil.

Stille Nacht, 2019, 18 x 24" oil on linen/birch.

The watercolor corner.

North Wind, 2020, watercolor. Sold

Edge of the Meadow, Sunset; 2020, watercolor. Sold

Home.

Home, 2020, 18 x 24" oil on linen/birch.

Another studio piece worked up from a plein air field painting, as September eased into October.

Peace.

Peace, 2019, 18 x 36" oil on linen/birch.

Wishing you peace through this time, and always.

Watercolor Time

I've been getting back into painting more with watercolor recently. It's so different than oils and, though I began with watercolors when I was a kid, it still can feel like a new and difficult medium - but can also be so fun and satisfying!

Here are some recent works from late fall until now:

Late October watercolor #1, approx. 5 x 8"

Late October watercolor #2, approx. 8 x 5"

Last Color, watercolor, approx. 8 x 11"

Overgrown, watercolor, approx. 8 x 11"

Damp Leaves, watercolor, approx. 11 x 8"

Moss Green, watercolor, approx. 5 x 8"

The Still Meadow, watercolor, approx. 8 x 5"

Brown and Gray, watercolor, approx. 5 x 8"

November Dusk, watercolor, approx. 5 x 8" sold

Winter Birch Portrait, watercolor, approx. 11 x 8"

Brown December, watercolor, approx. 7 x 11". sold

Evening Snow Clouds, watercolor, approx. 7.5 x 9.25. sold

Moody Snow Clouds, watercolor, approx. 7.25 x 9.25. sold

Snow on the Tree Trunk, watercolor, approx. 5 x 4.75. sold

When you can't do a lot...

 ... do a little.

Over the past week I have not accomplished a whole lot. A nasty cold changed all my plans, and I've been house-bound, making friends with the tea kettle and tissues.

So glamorous.

So today I worked on little projects. I haven't done much watercolour painting recently, and haven't done any tiny paintings in a long time. I'd forgotten how much fun they are. :)

Small glimpses of winter, 2.5 x 3.5" paintings.

And just like that...

And just like that...it's winter.
 It's been a beautiful autumn, and I'm still hoping to work on more November-inspired paintings. I just love its colors, and the intricate forms of the bare trees along with the muted tones of the sky and landscape.

5x7" watercolour, copyright 2011 Hannah C. Heyer

 But December has arrived and brought the snow-- gorgeous, soft, wet stuff, which has turned even the mundane into a feast for the eyes.
 I had the chance to do a little plein air painting this morning, my first this winter and I hope not the last. :)
 

5x7" oil on linen, copyright 2011Hannah C. Heyer

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We've been cleaning and childproofing around here, getting ready for my sister and her family, who'll be coming from Australia's summer to a Minnesota winter. We're digging out all the coats, boots, and blankets, and hope they'll thaw out before too long.
It's been almost two years since I've seen them, and I can't wait to see my niece and nephews! (Hurry up and get here, guys!)
 

Binksie and Bep - It's Here!

Binksie and Bep is finally here!
 It's now available on my Etsy shop: Here!


Written and illustrated by (yours truly) Hannah C. Heyer
8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm), soft cover, 34 pages, with 27 full color illustrations.


Yay! :-D

September Watercolours

Does it make sense that while we were without water (the old cistern was being replaced) I just had to paint with watercolour?

8x10" watercolour

A Roadside, 2.5 x 3.5" watercolour

September Tree, 3.5 x 2.5" watercolour

The bright clear days, fields changing to autumn hues, and trees clinging to summer green-- I had to paint something! And washing out oil painting brushes without running water was not very appealing.

I've had to stick close to home a lot lately, and after a much needed (but very short) ramble one evening I did some quick watercolour sketches while colors and places were fresh in my mind. This is such a beautiful time of year.

Happy to have water again, and hoping to work on some of my incomplete oil paintings very soon.

Ode to Paperwork

What's this, that causes, without fail,
My blood pressure to rise?
Nauseates, keeps me from sleep,
Confuses, angers, terrifies?

Its neat, type-written pages,
So innocent appear,
It will only take a minute, right?
Where is the cause for fear?

But oh! The ambiguity!
I think I'm going to cry!
The intelligence I thought I had,
Has left me high and dry!

My name (my name!) I've written wrong,
Oh why can I not think?
If only it were pencil,
And not this bold black ink!

Lines one through seven went alright,
Without too much frustration.
Line eight's a doozy and bids me search,
For some long-numbered publication.

Now for a lengthy guessing game,
Of "Does this apply to me?"
Put YES or NO or leave it blank,
And pretend I didn't see.


Line seven hundred forty-A,
In perfect legalese,
Asks the state of my finances,
And if my cat has fleas.

Attach the proper documents,
To prove I'm really me,
Paperclip -"no staples please"-
To page one hundred twenty-three.

Buried here in paperwork,
I still can't understand,
I now have just one question more:

Can someone hold my hand?


Ode to Paperwork, 9 x 12 Ink and Watercolor
Copyright 2011 Hannah C. Heyer