Plein Air Paintings

BY BRIAN STEWART

	Where Stars Were Made This old, overgrown and abandoned motel is on the Pacific Coast Highway in California just as you enter into Malibu. Since the 30ʼs it has been a favorite of fast laners, rock stars and the Hollywood crowd. A trip to the beach wouldn't have been complete without a stop there. I'm drawn to this kind of subject matter because it is so rapidly disappearing from our landscape and I look at it and think “If walls could talk”. 12 x 16”, oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-Century style frame.

	Barbados Blue Bar This is not the first bar I’ve painted, but certainly one of the most unusual. Located in Oistin on the Island of Barbados, it was painted bright blue and silver with a corrugated tin roof. (Corrugated tin seems to be the roof of choice in Barbados). From what I could tell the Bajans don’t call them “bars” but rather “shops”. It had large shuttered doors that opened to a wrap-around porch where patrons would sit, sip and soak up the wonderful weather of this great Island. Men would gather for games of Dominos that got quite animated and vocal. At first I thought blows were about to break out, but then I learned that’s just the way dominos are played in the Caribbean. For me, that just added to the charm of this wonderful Island. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Point Sur This dramatic, volcanic land formation is on the coast of California just above Big Sur. During the 1800ʼs it was the scene of many shipwrecks. A lighthouse was built on it around 1885 to help avoid the wrecks and today it is a State Park and Military Post. Visited all year round, it is a favorite of historians, photographers and artists because of it's light, color, drama and cypress trees. 9 x 12”, oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the- Century style frame.

	Caribbean Morn This was a sun-up demo painting for a workshop I was teaching in Barbados. I was attempting to show how to capture fast moving, changing light and weather which I think this painting does. The morning light and color in Barbados is different than I’m use to due to fact it’s so close to the Equator. But those adjustments and challenges are what make outdoor painting so fun. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Angus in Paradise Paradise Valley is located just north of Yellowstone between two mountain ranges. There are ranches with grazing fields scattered with low slung trees where the cattle gather around for shade and shelter. This makes for a nice composition. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	My Favorite Drive As a painter I've made it a point to travel the back-roads and drive as many of the great scenic byways in the United States as possible. But my all-time favorite drive is still the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey to Santa Barbara. In my opinion, the scenery is pretty hard to beat. I painted this just south of Carmel at an area called Rocky Point. It has dramatic rock formations and atmosphere that I think this painting nicely captures. 9 x 12”, oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-Century style frame. SOLD

	The Resting Place Cemeteries have a fondness in my heart. As a teenager I worked in one for two summers. I’ve buried more people than any artist you know. This old, historic one was located up on a hill in the old desert mining town of Jerome, AZ. The color, iron gates and rustic look had a very peaceful, reassuring feel. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Tug I don’t know much about boats but I sure like them. Particularly working class boats. This tug in the Duluth MN harbor looked like it had seen a lot of service. The elevators and buildings around it coupled with the foggy weather seemed to add to the whole look. I was told the tug recently sold so I know it has more years of service ahead. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Montezuma’s Castle This Indian Cliff Dwelling, located near Sedona, AZ, is the furthest south in a chain of cliff dwellings that start in Utah. Built and inhabited for about 400 years from 1000 to 1400AD, it’s abandonment is a mystery. It overlooks a fertile river valley that probably made for a good life. I thought portraying it as a nocturne just added to the quality and mystery it possessed. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Brother Greene's Garage After the celebrated Arts & Crafts Bungalow architects Greene & Greene retired in southern California, Charles moved north to the Carmel, CA area and took one more commission: the James House. It was a dramatic location on the cliffs of Carmel Highlands and overlooked the rocks, surf and sea. The house he designed was unusual in that it was masonry instead of the usual wood. Today heavily guarded and coveted, I was fortunate to get permission just to paint the garage door, which hints at how special this place is. 9 x 9, oil on canvas on board in a Greene & Greene style Honduras mahogany frame with ebony pegs designed and made by yours truly.

	Uppercut Gym I’ve always liked boxing and when I was younger and lived in Los Angeles I used to go to the fights regularly at the Olympic Auditorium. I followed the career of Muhammad Ali and saw him fight in person. A real thrill. So recently, when I was driving around the North Minneapolis Warehouse district and came upon this gym it got my attention. When I walked in I immediately knew this place was special. Fighters going about their training, producing rhythmic sounds from skipping rope, sparring and speed bags. A visual treat with warm light coming in the doors and windows. I knew I had to try to capture it in paint. I asked to speak with the owner to ask permission and to my surprise it turned out to be a young, attractive woman, who seemed to run the place with an iron glove, making the place even more interesting. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board in a gilded, turn-of-the-Century style frame.

	Through the Redwoods The rugged coast of California has an occasional back road that meanders into a pocket of redwood trees. These wonderful giants seem to have their own atmosphere and weather pattern. This group of trees were in a steep canyon behind Big Sur and with the afternoon light hitting the canyon walls made for a nice composition. 12 x 9”, oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-Century style frame.

	Bridge to Nicollet Island Where the Mississippi River flows through Minneapolis is a small island. It was one of the first places settled in the Twin Cities and is known as Nicollet Island. It’s connected to the mainland by a few bridges of which this is one. Built of steel in a engineering style used a hundred years ago, it has a nice spindly, architectonic quality, making it a real drawing and painting challenge. Now only used for foot and bike traffic, it’s surrounded by lush vegetation and places for people to walk, hike and fish. It adds a nice detail to a spot that’s an inner city oasis. I think this painting captures that feeling. 12 x 9, oil on canvas on board in a gilded, turn-of-the-Century style frame.

	Sunday Morning / Nicollet Island Nicollet Island is an inner city oasis that has many fine, older Victorian style homes. Some grand, some quaint. Loaded with Ginger bread, these homes were in neglect for many years, but in the last few years people have been slowly restoring them to their original beauty. One more reason why the Riverfront is one of the more desirable areas in the Twin Cites. This Sunday morning scene looked like a nice way to start the day. 12 x 9, oil on canvas on board in a turn-of-the-Century style gilded frame.

	Lake Harriet The Bandshell and Concession stands at Lake Harriet were designed and built about 20 years ago. They have a real nice festive, carnival like quality about them and in the summer months come alive with almost nightly concerts. With music lovers, bikers and skaters it makes for great people watching and painting. Although I did this painting some time ago, I think it still captures the feel of a summer in Minneapolis. 12 x 16, oil on canvas, in a turn-of-the-Century style gilded frame.

	Barbados Shanty Barbados has many nice, modern homes. But it also has many older shacks left over from the days when it was a colony and people didn’t own property. They would build small, quaint houses, often not on permanent foundations so they could be moved. They’re known as Chattel Houses, and as an artist, I could spend a lifetime painting these charming structures. This one is on the East Coast of Barbados in Bathsheba and came complete with it’s own goat which the Bajans say is actually a sheep. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Bar Break This building was painted by one of my workshop students and she did such a good job I took a crack at it after the workshop was over. It’s typical of the Midwest bar buildings of eighty, ninety years ago. They were built by local breweries to give them a local presence and identity. It had an apartment on top for the manager's family and served only that brewer's beer. It was competitive, the bar/apartment down the street belonged to another brewer and served only his beer. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of- the-century style frame.

	Over the Mississippi I think of the Mississippi River as an industrial, working river, not a recreational river. You’ll see barges, tugs, riverboats instead of yachts, ski boats and personal watercraft. That’s the feel this scene located in inner city Minneapolis gave me with the overhead bridge, trucks and smoke stack. The bridge is the Lowry Street bridge and has recently been taken down to make way for a newer replacement. Challenging subject matter like this reminds me not all pretty pictures need be pretty subject matter. 12 x16, oil on canvas board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	River Stop I painted this from the same location as “Over the Mississippi” looking south toward the city in the opposite direction. The river gas station with the city backdrop gives one a good idea of how the Mississippi feels as it flows through Minneapolis. It was early in the morning as the upcoming sun was striking the downtown buildings. I think this painting captures the feel of that summer morning nicely. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Barbados Beach Typical of many of the scenes you’ll find in Barbados, white sand beaches, aqua water, palms or Coconut Trees as they call them, and quaint beach shacks. Just the stuff you need for good painting. 9 x 12” oil on canvas on board in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	My Neighbors These two scarecrows are inner city scarecrows. Guarding the garden of a house in south Minneapolis. They’ve been there forever and every year they get a wardrobe change to keep up with the latest in fashion. This year they look pretty dapper, but not too scary. 12 x9, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame

	The Chicken Coops These pens were in the inner city Minneapolis/St. Paul at the University of Minnesota’s experimental, agricultural fields. In the background is the State Fair Grounds. We’re fortunate to have this kind of inner city scenery. This kind of stuff I’d normally drive by unless I was looking for something to paint. The way the early morning light was hitting the chicken coops made it irresistible. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Watering Paradise This is Paradise Valley located between Livingston and Yellowstone Park in Montana and it lives up to it’s name. I recently visited there while painting with the Northwest Rendezvous art group. Loaded with beautiful cattle ranches there’s a lot to paint. These sprinklers attracted me because of the soft, misty quality they create. A very difficult effect to capture while painting on location. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Skyway This Skyway must be the oldest in Duluth, MN. Originally built over an alley to join two adjacent small manufacturing buildings it had real charm. In a rough part of a international port city, it was surrounded by 24 hour saunas and bars. Being a little on the seedy side, the early morning clouds and light gave it just the right feel. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Liquors R Us I love naive architecture, where buildings are built for function. No style, no charm, nothing else. This building in West Duluth, MN had that plus a neon sign that made it irresistible. The sign had great letter forms, almost, but not quite, an art deco style. But what really made it for me was they sold (plural) “Liquors”, not just “Liquor”. Hard to pass up. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	The Old Ranch I like painting on old farms and ranches with their various buildings and machinery, the older and funkier the better. This ranch in Montana had that and more. An old family ranch, over several generations and years, it backs up to the Yellowstone River and has great views of everything including shacks and equipment like you see here. The kind of place an artist could spend years at. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Malt Shop I don’t know the history of this charming little building that sits on the tip of Lake Superior in Duluth Minnesota. I think it was once part of the Old Fitgers Brewery that was next door. Now a malt shop, it does a brisk business with summer patrons coming and going, stopping to gaze at the harbor and famous lift bridge. For me these kind of paintings are difficult to do. You have to document the building yet give it artistic charm. I think I did that here. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Gill Netter This style of fishing boat with it’s high sides that enclose the deck are unique to the Great Lakes. It allows fisherman to fish the lakes throughout most of the year and protects them from the elements, which in the case of Lake Superior can be brutal, if not deadly. I love the lines and form it gives the boats. I’ve painted several of them. This one was at rest in an out-of-the-way area of the Superior, WI harbor. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Over Duluth The town of Duluth, MN is built on a hillside overlooking the world’s largest inland sea port. The view is spectacular from many angles, and combined with the charm of the city’s buildings and character it is a challenge and treat for an artist. I painted this standing on a street corner surrounded by neighborhood kids who where full of questions and interested in watching an artist at work. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Home on the Mississippi On the Mississippi River near Winona is Latch Island which has many funky, quaint, homemade Boat Houses that some people live in year around. They make for challenging, fun and great painting. This one with the majestic bridge in the background seemed to tell a particular poignant story of “now and then” or “progress vs not-so-progress”. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Outhouse This privy is on a very large, old vineyard in Stockton, CA. Walking around that vineyard gave me the feeling of the old, long gone, California I grew up with. Sheds and quaint structures are a favorite subject of mine and this one seemed to have a special character. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	The Green, Green Cabin I’m not sure what green means anymore. It use to describe a color. But in any case this cabin had both. Located in Hovland, MN this quaint structure was still in use today. I particularly liked the vertical logs on the front which I had never seen before and the snow shovel that was poised for the coming snow in 5 months. But mostly, I like the way the sun hit it. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	The Fisherman’s Shacks These shacks are in Grand Marais, MN. The last of what were many during the fishing heyday, they’re slowly giving way to progress. The one on the far left is on the National Register of Historic Places. On the ground floor the fish were cleaned and stored and upstairs the fisherman slept. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Taco Wagon This quaint little taco stand was in southern Arizona right next to the Mexican border. It was homemade, well used and did a brisk business. After I finished this painting I found out why. The tacos were great! I love culinary surprises like this and just think... it will never get a restaurant review. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Harbor Haze Duluth MN / Superior WI is the largest inland harbor in the world. For an artist, it’s full of great imagery filled with interesting boats, grain silos, trains, dry docks etc, all presented with true grit. To make it even more interesting, you never know what the weather has in store, as I found out on this June 9th morning. For me, one of the losses of 9/11 is it’s now harder for an artist to gain access to these places for security reasons. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Bookstore Loom There’s a used bookstore in Cornucopia, WI that has terminal appeal and character, not to mention a great selection of books. I’ve painted it before, but this time when I went in there was a weaver’s loom sitting in the middle of it. I thought “what’s a loom doing here?” but after thinking about it it just seemed to belong. So I painted it again. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Moon Over Verde Valley I painted this in Jerome, AZ. A small, very old mining town situated on a hillside above Cottonwood, AZ. This view is of Verde Valley looking east toward Sedona on a full moonlit night. The expansiveness and atmosphere of the Southwest seems to lend itself to these types of paintings, giving the subject matter a very romantic quality. 12 x16, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Heaven’s Light I painted this west of Tucson, AZ high up in a mountain pass. I drove out there hoping to find a sundown scene looking west. I didn’t like it, but when I turned around to head back to Tucson, this is what I saw. Millions of stars echoed by thousand of lights on the ground. I thought it would make an interesting and challenging painting. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Yesterday’s Truck & Barn This scene seems to be all across America. Old, dilapidated barns and homesteads with dead cars and trucks. But I can’t resist them when they have other qualities of interesting color or dappled light as this one has. It makes for interesting, challenging painting. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Voyager’s Lunch I painted this at the Grand Portage National Monument in Minnesota near the Canadian border. The park has rangers who are living history re-enactors that give you a feeling for life in the 18th and 19th Century by doing presentations and demonstrations. This one was smoking lake trout near an Ojibwe hut. I got to taste the trout later. It was great. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame. SOLD

	Tree Tunnel I spotted this simple, yet appealing scene while driving around the charming little town of Cornucopia on the south shore of Lake Superior. I think it the duty of a plein air painter to paint scenes that people wouldn’t normally look at twice. This is one of them. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Train Meets Grain This is typical of the scenery around the harbor in Superior, WI. It has that hard core industrial look with grain silos, loading docks and boats interlaced with trains and train tracks. It makes for challenging and fun painting. 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.

	Ghost House This abandoned, empty shack on the shore of Lake Superior didn’t seem too interesting to me when I first saw it. Later I drove by it when it was shrouded in a veil of fog. That did it. If walls could talk... 9 x12, oil on canvas on board, in a gilded turn-of-the-century style frame.