Great Places Series - Lake Herman State Park

This large state park is one of our states’s oldest, I took the Luce trail and really enjoyed it, though it looked like all three of the trail systems would’ve been really beautiful. It was a brisk Saturday morning in January and mostly what I was hearing while walking was my footsteps crunching through the frozen Snow. When I arrived just before sunrise, I saw some ice fishermen and a deer and later as I was leaving it was obvious that the park was a popular place for people to take their weekend walks. I was lucky with my timing as I got to the trailhead that I was looking for just as the sunrise was very colorful with lavender, pink, yellow and blue. I can’t wait to go back to Herman Park again in other seasons and experience it over and over again.

Sunrise at the Luce trailhead.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Lake Herman State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Pelican Lake State Park

I loved the trail system at Pelican Lake and enjoyed my morning visit in mid November. I found the path snowed over on the way to a look out of the lake and I had fun trecking over the drifts to get to the overlook. A few birds and the sounds of my footsteps in the snow were the only things to interrupt the silent solitude of this hike.  

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Pelican Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Lake Cochrane Recreation Area

I visited Lake Cochrane in January and arrived at the park at just about sunrise. My goal with some of the parks I visited in winter were to catch great sunrises to see the way the sunlight played with the snow. I traipsed around on the frozen crust of windswept snow making sure to catch the sunrise in just the right way. I wasn’t the only one out though, the earliest fishermen were headed out to their shacks to try their luck.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Lake Cochrane Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - Spirit Mound

I consider it a treat to wake up early with the goal of getting to a park or nature area to hike by myself at sunrise, so the morning I spent at Spirit Mound was perfect. It wasn’t terribly cold for a January morning and being a Sunday at dawn the landscape all around us was pretty still so the soft sunrise and quiet prairie were all mine (my dog was there too I guess but he was quiet as well). The entire time there I thought about the stories of the place that had been told to the Lewis and Clark expedition about the little people that lived there and the fact that this is a location where you can stand in the same place that the expedition would have been. Sense a lot of their camps were on the river and that has changed so over the years due to damming.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Spirit Mound Historic Prairie or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Sunrise at Spirit Mound. 

Great Places Series - Springfield State Recreation Area

Sunrise on a fridged -5 F morning. 

I visited Springfield State Recreation area on a trip I took to Kansas to visit family. I was up early hoping to catch a great start of day at the park. One thing I learned shortly after moving to South Dakota from Kansas was the value of good winter gear and I was happy to have my really good coat and mittens for this spot. I took a couple breaks from exploring and photographing the beautiful landscape to warm up in my car because the morning of December 30th at 8:30 it was below zero. I love the color palette of winter and putting up with the cold for these photos references was worth it.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Springfield State Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Quick watercolor sketches of a few of the views from Springfield Recreation Area

Great Places Series - Little Moreau State Recreation Area

I love the colors here. The pale turquoise sky and frozen creek,  rust color grasses, and dark earthy green of the cedars.

Little Moreau is another of the parks I likely would not have found myself if not for this project and now I am trying to figure out when I could go see it again in another season. That has been a goal of mine to try to see some of the parks I’m familiar with in a season I haven’t visited it in yet. For example I’ve visited Beaver Creek in the Summer multiple times and for this series I went in the Spring before it really turned green. I also went to Palisades in the early spring while there was still snow on the ground, until now I had seen it in Summer and Fall. It is fun to see these parks in different seasons, relearning your favorite landmarks in their different states of being.

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Little Moreau State Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Great Places Series - West Pollock Recreation Area

It wasn’t a very long path that I took but I took my time really enjoying the quiet morning sounds and colors

I made the 40 minute drive from Mobridge up to Pollock before sun-up because I love to catch these parks at sunrise and have them mostly to myself. I wasn’t disappointed. The frosty morning, a light dusting of snow that only clung to patches of grass, geese and the pastel sky were so beautifully serene together. I am excited to paint the subtlety of those elements. 

 If you are interested in seeing the painting from West Pollock Recreation Area or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page!

Geese flying were just the faintest dots in the sky.

Pickerel Lake Recreation Area

I took the Ponderosa Trail at the West Pickeral Lake Recrestion Area. I was struck by the lovely little campground and abundance of water related activity options. I had a quiet hike and visit to the park since it was a weekday in October. Also, because it was relatively empty of campers I checked out the cabin views which were right on the water! My pup Rye also approved of the park!

The trail I took pictured above includes a loop around the camping area and the Poderosa Trail

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Pickerel Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Great Places Series - Roy Lake State Park

My visit to Roy Lake was so energizing. The clear day and sunshine really highlighted the changing leaves. I walked along the beach for a time then followed the Roy Island Trail. The trail was nice and easy and would be great for anyone to enjoy!

If you are interested in seeing the painting from Roy Lake State Park or any of the other Parks and Recreation Areas before they are released to the public please reach out to me via the contact page! If you perhaps are interested in learning more about how you may be able to help me with this project please visit my Patreon Page. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!

Summer 2016

My first art fairs of 2016 are just around the corner! I am excited to be headed to some of the nation's top art festivals. The first three shows will take me to Oklahoma City, OK, Edina, MN and Columbus, OH. Each of the festivals I will be at expects seeing crowds of 200,000 and up over the course of three days! I really have a blast at art festivals; even if the hours get long, the day goes amazingly fast with so many people to meet and talk to.

So far I have the dates listed in the Upcoming Events section of the website. I am still waiting to hear from jury results for shows that fall later in the summer and will update the schedule as I find out each new show. Thanks for taking the time to check in on me! Hope to see you out there this summer!

Summer in Colorado

The plans for my trip to Colorado are coming together! I am truly looking forward to spending just shy of two weeks split between Denver, Loveland and Edwards. In the meantime, I am keeping busy painting and preparing supplies for the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and Art on the Rockies. Because of the frenzy, not all of my work has been making it onto the website. I have been trying to document pieces as I finish them though and occasionally I even remember to post them to facebook or instagram!

JAM Art & Supplies Interview

Recently the team over at JAM Art & Supplies did an interview with me. They were great interviewers and I am thankful for them doing these "Inspired Interviews" with our local artists. There are a lot of great interviews and other blog entries on their website too. Please when you have time take a moment to check out all the great stuff they are up to. Also, here is the link to my interview Laura Jewell and Inspired Interview.

Studio 301

I was accepted into the very unique "Studio 301" exhibition at the Washington Pavilion this year. "Studio 301" invites 35 artists to set up temporary studios in the Visual Arts Center Everist Gallery and create a piece of artwork during an entire day. The event takes place on October 25th and the community is welcome to observe, communicate with the artists and enjoy the creative process unfolding. The event also includes a reception that is also open to the public from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The 6th Biennial Governor's Exhibition

I recently recieved the news that my piece "White Clover" was selected to be a part of The 6th Biennial Governor's Exhibition. I am honored to have been selected for this show which travels around the state of South Dakota for two years. You can see the painting "White Clover" at Rug & Relic in Sioux Falls until the 12th of August. Then it will be traveling first to The South Dakota Art Museum on the SDSU campus in Brookings, then to The Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City,  The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science in Sioux Falls, The John A. Day Gallery on the USD campus in Vermillion, and finishing up at the Dacotah Prairie Museum in Aberdeen.

The Washington Pavilion's 2nd Juried Art Show

I recently got news in the mail that I was accepted I to The Washington Pavilion's 2nd Juried Show here in Sioux Falls. Two years ago was their inaugural juried show and  I was accepted into it as well with my collage piece "Melancholy".

This year my oil painting piece "Every Time the Sign is Correct" was selected. This piece is part of my Rural Superstitions and Astrology series. I am honored to have been selected as part of this showcase of mostly regional artists. The show opens June 20th with a closing reception the day before the exhibition closes on October 5th.

I hope you get a chance to check out the show!

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