Large Paintings

BY BRIAN STEWART

	Stillwater Lift Bridge This old bridge, connecting Stillwater, MN with Wisconsin, spans the St. Croix river. It was built in 1931 and is considered by many to be old and obsolete and has long been the center of controversy. Some favor building a newer bridge just down river from it, others want to hold on to the tradition. I think it’s the second oldest lift bridge in the country. I like it for it’s beauty and form, not to mention steel, spindly bridges are very hard to paint. I did this painting about 6 years ago in the fall. It has been on loan to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and has been hanging in the Minnesota Governors Mansion. 18 x 24, oil on canvas in a turn-of-the-century style gilded frame.

	The Peace Gardens I have always been impressed by the resourcefulness and industriousness of the various ethnic groups that are making our cities their home. These inner city community gardens located at Highway 94 and Cedar Avenue are a great example. Not only are they a great use of “unusable” space, but the quantity and quality of the produce grown here is impressive. But the thing that really got me is the peace and serenity of the gardens. All these diverse people, happily toiling away - juxtapositioned with the glass, steel and hubbub of the city. That co-existence was the story I was trying to convey in this richly detailed painting. I spent 3 afternoons there doing a study for this large studio painting and I only encountered one other English speaking person. Later, a 85 year old Korean woman was so impressed with my study, she gave me a gift of some red peppers (lower right in painting) used in Kim Chi. She told me (through her daughter interpreting) how to dry and plant the seeds in the Spring. “The real deal from Korea”, she said. OK by me. 30 x 40 in a silver gilded panel frame.

	The Early Californians To me, nothing says California like the California Condor. It’s a metaphor for some of the struggles my native state is having these days. This prehistoric bird survived the Ice Age only to become nearly extinct in the early 1980’s. With its numbers down to a scant 22 it has fought its way back to almost 400 birds, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Ventana Wildlife Society. This conservation group helped make this painting possible by taking me up to their release station 18 miles into the mountains behind Big Sur. There I did studies, took photos and made notes that made me appreciate this great creature. The 2nd largest bird in the world, it is a paradox. Up close it is ugly and clumsy, but in flight it’s a thing of beauty, grace and efficiency, gliding effortlessly on the thermals for hours. Its flight has even inspired great music like “El Pasa Condor”. The original “Green Bird”, it eats nothing but carrion, which is where its troubles began from poisoning due to hunter’s lead bullets. In some cultures it’s celebrated in totems as a symbol of Death & Rebirth, which is what I was trying to celebrate in my painting. 40 x 30”, oil on linen, in a really beautiful turn-of-the-century style gold frame.

	The AA Meeting Minneapolis is blessed with a strong and active sobriety community. It has many good AA Meeting Houses to choose from with meetings most anytime someone needs one. The meeting house I painted here is in South Minneapolis and features the usual cast of characters sharing their experience, strength and hope. The painting portrays the giving of a medallion for another year of sobriety, a very special event in the life of a recovering person. 48 x 30”, oil on linen, in a turn-of-the-Century style gilded frame. Also available in a Giclee’ print on French Cotton Paper.

	The Long Haul As I’ve said so many times, the Mississippi River is a blue collar, working river... not just a recreational river. When you see a tug like this with a load of barges you’ll know why. They can be city blocks long hauling gravel, coal, grain, you name it. This view is from the backyard of an artist friend early in the AM. I think it captures the fall, the light and the feeling of that morning nicely. 12 x 20”, oil on linen on board in turn-of-the-century style gilded frame.

	Church & State The Minnesota State Capitol Building is one the grandest in the country. Designed by Cass Gilbert, the same architect who did the Woolworth Building in New York and the Supreme Court Building in Washington DC, it is considered one of his best. Across the way is the majestic St. Paul Cathedral by Emmanuel Masqueray. To have two buildings of this class within eyeshot of one another is a real gift for the Twin Cities. Available in a Giclee’ print, 18 x 24, on French Cotton Paper.

	Steam...Coming & Going The year is 1889 on the upper Mississippi River near Wabasha, MN, in the fall, just about sundown. The steamer tug is the Lizzie Gardner out of LaCrosse, WI, a working class boat pushing a large raft of logs. The passenger train passing it is the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. The locomotive is a Grant built 4-4-0. It’s working hard on the twisting and turning route belching steam and smoke. A great sight for an artist, but maybe not for an environmentalist. This historical painting was a joy to research and paint. I spent hours at the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, IA and the Minnesota Historical Society in Saint Paul, MN getting reference material. I hope to do many more paintings like this. 14 x 28, oil on linen on board in turn-of-the-century style gilded frame.

	The Grand Excursion This painting is of a reenactment of an event that originally took place in the mid 1800’s. The original event was an excursion of river boats full of politicians and dignitaries to the upper Mississippi River to promote business in Iowa and Minnesota. About six years ago the event was recreated. Here we see the steamers as they are coming through Red Wing in the early AM with rain threatening. This painting has been on loan to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and has been hanging in the Minnesota Governors Mansion for about the last six years. 36 x 48, oil on canvas in a turn-of-the-century style gilded frame.

	The Canoe Maker I admire good handcraft and the Birch Bark Canoe is certainly that. Built of bark, roots, wood and pitch with few tools they’re a thing of beauty. Originally designed and built by the Native American Indians, and later by the Voyagers, it was very important to the economic development of this country in the 18th and 19th Century. It allowed Voyagers to gather and trade fur pelts from the upper reaches of Canada and bring them by river to the markets on the East Coast and Europe. I painted this at the Grand Portage National Monument in northern Minnesota where they have first-rate re-enactors / craftsman building canoes, huts, etc. and doing presentations on that historic and important way of life. 18 x 24, oil on linen in gilded, 20th Century style frame.

	The Moose This painting was an attempt to recreate one of those rare moments when I came upon a moose in a glade but didn’t have a camera. I was struck with how big and beautiful these animals are. The image stuck in my mind and I wanted to do a painting of it but I needed to photograph some moose to paint from. As luck would have it, I read an ad and hired a moose caller in Grand Marais, MN who guaranteed to bring in moose. I was skeptical but had nothing to loose but time and a few bucks. He took me out early in the morning and I watched and listened as he bellowed these weird sounds out of a hand made birch bark megaphone as I sat poised with camera in hand. After two hours not one moose. Embarrassed, he asked me to come out one more morning free of charge and was I glad I did. He brought in 5 Bull Moose that morning as I shot many photos that became important reference for this painting. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my art life. 18 x 24, oil on canvas, in a gilded, 20th Century style frame.

	Crossing the Saint Croix I like railroad imagery and bridges. I’ve painted them a lot. This dramatic scene with the railroad track, swing bridge and partially frozen river is on a stretch of the Saint Croix River that divides Minnesota from Wisconsin just below Bayport, MN. I spotted the bridge from the road but had to do some snooping and hiking in the snow to get to this vantage point. It was very early this past Easter morning and as I began to paint it clouded up and began to storm creating a dramatic sky and light effect. I was able to capture that in my study for this painting. The reminder for me that morning was: I just have to show up. 24 x 36, oil on linen, in a gilded silver frame.