My paintings are too conscious to categorize as surreal, but are none the less dreamy and mesmerizing. They are a stage set I create for characters to play out allegorical themes. Stories of love, lust, pathos, sin and even, sometimes contrition are what compel me to paint. Humans and animals become one, which reminds us that whether for good or bad, our actions are often very primal. These paintings are sometimes disturbing, often funny and always simply beautiful to look at.

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Plum Blossoms, 16x28, oil on panel, $2800

In the Meadow, 16x28, oil on panel, $2800

Ellipsism, 10x14, oil on panel, $1450

As an artist, my goal has always been to convey an emotion to the viewer with the simplest means. I was trained as a portrait painter and have emulated the work of the great masters for their fluid use of paint. I prefer to paint ordinary people in public settings such as bars or cafe’s as well as on the streets or waiting for trains.

I was interested in art early on because my older brother and cousin were also artists. They apprenticed to a local fresco painter for a year and afterward started attending a French Academic Art school based out of Minneapolis named The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Art and brought me along.

Training at the Atelier began with a series of exercises starting with charcoal drawings of plaster caste busts, before progressing to more difficult things such as still life, portraiture and the human figure in Oil paint. Concurrent with these exercises was the study of life drawing with charcoal followed by Oil paint.

After completing the program I took up studying landscape painting while living in southern Argentina and became tuned into the 19th century tonalist painters George Inness and James McNeill Whistler. Their atmospheric paintings inspired me to focus on the rural landscape as a way to convey emotion to the viewer. I moved back home and continued toward that goal for several years painting the landscapes I had seen growing up around my family’s cabin in Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. After several years I moved back to Minneapolis and became interested in street photography and street painting. I developed a large body of work focusing on the downtown landscapes of the Twin Cities with the aim to communicate traditional techniques with a more contemporary subject matter.

The aim of my urban paintings has been to develop candid portraits of people living in different situations and cultures with in the Twin Cities and greater Mid-West, by using geometry and composition I strive to reveal both the variety of culture and similarity in character of the people who walk the streets. I work to study and interpret individuals living out the leisure, commerce, and hectic aspects of their everyday public lives. Each painting is an attempt to tell a story and reveal the streets as a theatre for the full range of human emotions.

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Downtown, 48x36, oil on panel, $5800

Jax Cafe, 27x48, oil on panel, $3700

Walking Down the Line, 22x28" oil on panel, $2495

My passion for the representative image stems from a fascination held for iconography, Byzantine and Russian as well as the myriad connotations associated with the representative image, whether they be spiritual, political or documentative. The term “icon” is aptly loaded with symbology and meaning originally reserved for saints and church prescribed entities. I intend to salvage these implied and historical meanings with a contemporary flair. Through this elevated approach to portraiture I intend to celebrate the monumentality of the individual, the unknown person and the common or ordinary, and that it is anything but.    

To borrow a term from literature, an integral inspiration for my work, I consider myself a magical realist. As I take up the task of painting traditional portraiture, I distort the lens through which I view the sitter. Through a distorted and abstracted painterly expression I hope to metaphorically conjure forth real human emotion and experience. In reaching for an emotive understanding of humanity, I aim to form images without the dishonesty and cynicism I see in daily life. Each painting becomes a rich tapestry saturated with potential for story telling.  

While I am also influenced by traditional European portraiture in my desire to record an individual human being who lives and breathes in a certain place in time, my need to confound and "improve" naturalism offsets any desire to paint realistically. In this way, distortion and the use of architectural and atmospheric elements to shroud my subject matter becomes vital to the narrative of each painting. As elements overlap, dissect and merge, subject and setting are blurred creating yet another layer of subtext.  Through implied space and atmosphere, each image is as much about emotion as subject blurring the line between representation and abstraction. 

When looked upon from an outside perspective, the tension in all of us takes on a strange beauty. This is what I hope to present in my work. In so doing, my wish for the viewer is that they may come in contact with their spiritual self and glimpse at their personal divinity. I hope to transcend dogmatic religious belief while reaching for a universal experience and realization. Just as icons of the Byzantine and Russian heritage provided a means of meditation and contemplation, so too, I hope that my work finds a place in peoples homes, and more importantly, has a positive influence throughout their life. Rather than simply beautifying a living environment, my intention is that the work reaches for a transformation of the body, mind and soul while acting as a focal point in ones life experience.

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Birdsong, 30x25, oil on panel, $2750

Nocturne Series #10, 22x25, oil on panel, $1650

Love Bird, 19x16, oil on panel, $2450

This new group of paintings is inspired by the intimate landscapes of my home. With comforting images of plants, windows, and relaxed figures, I celebrate and indulge in tactile, light-filled moments. The driving force behind this work is simple delight. I encourage my viewers to bathe themselves in delight - and the light - every chance they get.

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Still Life in Blue, 24x34, oil on panel, $1950

Corner, 21x17, oil on paper, $695

Best Part of Spring, 36x48, oil on panel, $3850

In nature, light creates the color. In the picture, color creates the light.  ~Hans Hoffman

While the vastness of the visual panorama is certainly astounding, I am interested in the deconstruction and reinterpretation of our surroundings through the use of color and finite detail. I am attracted to small details and lighting events and variations in the natural and artificial environment. The original inspiration may be an anchor for me but the content of a work becomes purely design oriented. I become captivated by the practice of the medium itself. The composition as it was planned may evolve into a previously planned composition and draw from other inspirations. However this idea is not a wishy washy one; for me the practice of art should be continuously disciplined and each plateau will lead to the next riddle or challenge. The visual outcome of a work of art for me can be left up to interpretation. I don't feel that it needs to be representative of anything tangible other than what the viewer wishes to define for him or herself.  

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Gradient Series , Lake, 18x44, watercolor on paper, $4250

Gradient Series, Mars, 30x22, watercolor on paper, $3250

Gradient Series, The Length of Light, 40x35, watercolor on paper, $4250

My paintings explore notions of time, permanence, and memory. I use landscape, architecture, and objects to create empathy for the familiar and every day while quietly noting the changes environments go through. 

The act of painting is a personal exercise. Photographs I take myself for reference images are inspired by memories and are part of an ever-growing collection of stumbled-upon, treasured places. The paintings are done in various scales and a varied palette to invite the viewer into the environment. The subtle changes of tone add visual interest to ample areas of color. Directional brush strokes and brayer marks also add variety and act as directive pathways to give some way in to the paintings themselves. My work is present in the moment, and questions my relationship with the space as well as the relationship between person and painting.

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Burlingame, 24x30, oil on panel, $1395

Dusk in Iowa, 30x40, oil on panel, $2450

Western Vista, 26x20, oil on panel, $995

The sense of abstraction and mystery in this work should point clearly to the fact that you are looking not at a place, not at a document of reality at all, but at historically layered and subjective fantasies of place and space. My references and influences are art historical, rather than natural. I am interested in artists such as Whistler, the Tonalists, and the Symbolists. Landscape painting and the way that it serves as a metaphor, a dream, or a distortion is my primary interest in the pursuit.

While the places I explore with paint are a mixture of expressionistic personal history and metaphor, and interrogations of classic Liberal Enlightenment enculturation in relation to land, I hope to kindle questions and thoughts about land-based mythologies and the pleasures and problems alike in our physical, placed lives.

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Running, 20x30, oil on panel, $1495

Refresher, 16x12, oil on panel, $650

Banner Day, 15x30, oil on panel, $1295

I begin every painting in a naturalistic manner, painstakingly depicting as much detail as the hand and eye permit. After considerable care and control is given to grasp a clear image, I then introduce chance into the work by mechanically and unsentimentally passing over the painting with a massive brush, what could be likened to sfumato. The consequence is that of erasing everything but what is important.

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Liminal #2, 40x40, oil on aluminum, $3450

Liminal #4, 40x40, oil on aluminum, $3450

Liminal #28, 20x20, oil on aluminum, $1650

WACSO stands for: Walkin’ Around Checkin’ Stuff Out. These are the drawings I make as I’m walkin’ around checkin’ stuff out. It’s all about getting out there and finding cool stuff: A hot dog stand, a cool old building, an old bar, a county fair, a rusted out truck, old people, dogs...whatever is cool and has soul.

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South, 36x24, illustration on canvas, $550

Tangletown Water Tower, 24x16, illustration on canvas, $395

Uptown Theatre, 32x24, illustration on canvas, $495

Alcohol inks are an exciting medium. I’ve discovered that the unpredictability and vibrancy of the pigments lend themselves beautifully to expressions of nature. My alcohol ink paintings and drawings are expressions of the complexity of the natural world that we discover if we simply take the time to notice.

Overall, my goal is to offer the viewer a place of peace and respite, a mental break from the daily stimulation and busyness that we all face.

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Looking Ahead, 40x36, india ink, alcohol on panel, $3400

Reflecting, 40x36, india ink, alcohol on panel, $3400

Violet Meadow, 30x30, india ink, alcohol on panel, $1950

In my paintings I hope to reveal the face of the ordinary, to make manifest the interior by endowing it with mystery, beauty and a deeper meaning. 

Exploring the theme of childhood, I use animals juxtaposed to my subject as symbols of danger or protection. Children are brave and their imaginations are as open as a dream, helping them to survive life’s perils as we witness in stories.

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Afternoon, 26x31, oil on panel, $2650

The Meeting, 19x23, oil on panel, $1650

Morning, 20x16, oil on panel, $1650

At the break of dawn early January of 2018, I woke to a firm voice in my head “YOU ARE PAINTING THE TAROT!” I had played with the idea for some time, as my personal collection of tarot decks had been a source of inspiration for years. It felt like a gentle little tug as my heart was saying “Do it!” but I seriously doubted I had it in me. I wasn’t taking “the calling” seriously, but the nudge was persistent. On this particular 4:00am moment the voice was LOUD and shockingly confident. My eyes opened BIG…and like the “FOOL,” who begins her journey blindly yet faithfully, I said “YES, LET’S DO THIS!” ” And I say “let’s” because I trusted I would be spiritually guided to push myself beyond my comfort zone. Tarot decks are typically illustrations full of nuances and detail, created as a divination tool to read into a situation or question. My work has been more about shadowy symbolism, refraining from getting too specific. The layers..and there’s A LOT of them.. are where the deeper symbolism lies. Beyond those layers the viewer is invited to go deep as you access your own inner poetic wisdom. This body of work is a sincere invitation to express yourself from a place of truth. To ask the hard questions. To follow your path and BE dedicated to the shadow work required to move us through the veil and into a New Earth perspective.  

In my studio I meditate before painting, I surround myself with crystals and stones I have found — lots of hearts!!! I light sage and invite Reiki and my Spirit Guides to be present. I paint with my hands and rarely use a paintbrush. I touch each piece with all my love. 

Lovers, 42x26, mixed media on canvas, $3650

Karmic Release, 33x36, mixed media on canvas, $2650

Beaver 15x14, mixed media on canvas, $850

My surrealistic, acrylic paintings delight in the weird and wonderful. They are portals into a world where the boundaries of reality can be bent, manipulated, and conformed. My work explores many themes, such as home, childhood, memory, patterns, nature, humor, space, and fairytales.

As a child my parents regularly brought me to antique stores, where I became lost in bins of vintage photos and yearbooks. Similarly, during the renovation of the old farmhouse that would became our home, my parents unearthed original photos of the farmers and families that homesteaded that property. The ancient and stoic-looking people in these photos immediately captured my imagination, transporting me through time and space. I wondered about their lives, personalities, worries and dreams. The timelessness of vintage images provides an endless supply of mythical and curious characters for me to draw upon. They produce a rich soil for my paintings to take root, into history.

The narrative quality of my work is fueled by an insatiable love of fantasy, science fiction, fairy tales, mystery and folklore. Because storytelling is central to the way I approach each painting, every image is like a page in a book. I find the tension between playful and poignant to be most true to life, and the key to a really good story. Since raising a family, my awareness of this reality has been heightened. Seldom does a day pass without my children jarring the heavy moments of my mind with their curiosity, creativity, humor, and basic needs. Being surrounded by a neighborhood full of children also reawakened a love of imaginative living.

I am grateful for the opportunity that painting has given me to escape, even if for a moment, into a world of my own making. A world where I can marvel, laugh, ruminate, and process the weight of the day. A world where anything is possible.

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Chickens on the Run, 30x24, acrylic on panel, $3500

Ducks in the Wind, 24x20, acrylic on panel, $2200

Heartland, 36x48, acrylic on panel, $5200

"My paintings have largely been influenced by places I've traveled to, including Iceland, Norway, and Ireland. When visiting an unfamiliar place, I try to collect a visual vocabulary that will be referenced later. Symbols are abstracted from surrounding nature and include anything from volcanic craters and waterfalls, to rocks or seeds from a milkweed pod.

I rely on memory and the way a place makes me feel when I paint. I use icons and patterns that are carried over from previous work while occasionally adding fresh imagery. I try not to have a specific idea in mind when beginning a painting, instead, using intuition to guide me. The process involves adding/layering/subtracting colors and constantly fighting the urge to do what's familiar. It can be a challenge to know when a painting is finished, but over time, I've learned to trust the process. I also have to be willing to let go and start over. Having this freedom allows me to take risks which lead to more unpredictable and interesting results. When I'm feeling more introspective, I switch from landscapes to portraits. Overall, my subject matter is intentionally ambiguous, leaving the viewer to create their own narrative.

My favorite part of the process is the final addition of subtle pencil lines layered over uncontrolled abstract backdrops. The addition of drawing brings the control back with a simple lead pencil."

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Edgewater, 36x48, mixed media, $2950

Walk in the Woods, 30x40, mixed media on panel, $1995

Breakwater, 12x9, mixed media on panel, $245

Content is very important to me. I strive to treat a variety of interests -animals, children, rural and botanical subjects. No matter what I do I try to scratch the surface, revealing some of the psychology of my subjects so that don't become cliches or overly precious. I hope to gain more depth than meets the eye -everyday content with an unexpected edge. Some of my favorite artists are outsiders like Grandma Moses and Clementine Hunter and more schooled artists who imitated their naiveté like Jean Dubuffet. Surfaces, too, are important to me and working the surface until it reaches as visual a level of interest as the content is one of my primary goals. I work in oil and beeswax on board but also in acrylic, ink and pencil on paper or board.I am thoroughly obsessed with making art; if not making it, thinking about it. It is an extremely fun and fulfilling obsession.

Starry Night, 12x12, oil, beeswax on panel, $395

Nocturnal, 25x19, oil, beeswax on panel, $1295

Interior with Bowl of Cherries, 19x15, oil, beeswax on panel, $795

This body of work is an exploration of the landscape I grew up in and continue to live in.

Milwaukee was my home through college with Lake Michigan always present for scale. In fact the Layton School of Art and Design I graduated from was built on the shore of that Great Lake.

My grandfather built a log cabin ‘up north’ in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest where my older brother and I spent every summer through high school. We skied Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the 1960’s winters. I moved to Minneapolis right out of college and discovered Minnesota's special landscape. 

The oil and cold wax paintings in this show reflect my memories of this northern place.

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The Dock, 30x40, oil on panel $4250

Green Boat, 30x40, oil on panel $4250

Bighorn River II, 24x30, oil on panel, $2250

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Ockham’s Razor, 56x45, mixed media on canvas, $4950

Allegory, 35x26 mixed media on canvas, $3250

My work revolves around vibration and the transformation of energy. I use a 21,000 RPM die grinder to mine abstract images. Over the course of 27 years, the vibration from the die grinder has shaken me out of the mundane and into the sacred.  

As I work, I listen to music and let it guide my movements. Music and sound are the underpinnings of my work. The marks I make reference techno, jazz, symphonic and primitive forms. The whining of the grinder abrading the plex mingles with the baseline and melody, punctuated with my own percussion. The effect is mesmerizing and meditative. A rhythmic, harmonic hum creates a gateway to higher consciousness through a vibrating field of visual sound, blurring sensory boundaries.

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Pipe Dream, 26x22, back-carved, painted Plexiglas, $2950

Button Box, 14x11, back-carved, painted Plexiglas, $1950

Near Greenland, 19x24, back-carved, painted Plexiglas, $1950

I am one of those artists that have tried a little bit of everything, which includes painting wood signs and bird houses, wool needle felting sculpture, and refinishing old furniture. I then turned to paper medium, working with soft pastel, graphite, watercolor and acrylics. My subjects were mainly portrait pieces. Let me also include that I have even refinished two entire sets of kitchen cabinets. What I am trying to communicate is that I really like to work with my hands and my heart.

I then discovered the art of torn paper assemblage a few years ago. While looking at some work on Pinterest I was introduced to this medium. I tried it and I decided this is me! I love the idea of how bits of paper come together to become a colorful interesting piece of art.

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House on the Hillside, 49x32, torn paper assemblage, $2950

Horse Racing, 17x12, torn paper assemblage, $750

Spring Orchard, 41x65, torn paper assemblage, $6800

I have always been fascinated and curious about the inner workings of people. In my career as a psychologist, my focus has centered around what makes each person unique and how to help them live an examined life. I see a direct crossover in my pursuit of abstract art, always working to discover what lies below the surface. In my work as both a psychologist and a painter, I allow what needs to emerge by being patient, open, attuned, and present.

As an artist I paint intuitively. My work shows my love of detail and exploration, allowing each painting to develop organically as I move through all stages. My process involves starting with a blank canvas and then working with many layers of paint and paper. I often rework each piece, sometimes sanding it back to the base and then beginning again. The process involves working and stepping back and then adding or subtracting until it eventually creates a sense of unity. It is my hope that in each of my paintings, I am able to convey a complex simplicity that shows both the finer details as well as a strong sense of culmination.

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They All Went to the Circus I, II, 48x12 each, mixed media on panel, $1095 ea.

Less is More I,II,III,IV, 16x16 each, mixed media on panel, $395 ea.

The Dividing Line, 18x18, mixed media on panel, $495

As an artist I utilize the potential of the medium in its communication of essence to audience. Whether the content is didactic, metaphoric, rhetorical, social, emotional, mental, or merely the creation of atmosphere or mood – all serve to incite a response. For without audience interaction, art would not exist. I as an artist am audience. Every technique employed must have function and reason as its core, even (perhaps especially) if this involves deviation from institution, standard and precedent.
My on-going practice as an artist has helped me in understanding all mediums. It has given me an interest in a specific field in the industry. It has given me the chance to work on stories that are not only personal but become personal when working on them. With fine art every brush stroke I make is for a reason, it gives purpose to the moment or the mood.

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In the Backyard, 32x42, oil on canvas, $5400

Summer Nights, 18x24, oil on canvas, $2495

Little Red House, 22x32, oil on canvas, $2800

My work evokes the idea of interconnectedness between people and place. I use traditional handwork techniques; combining text, handmade paper and textiles in unconventional ways. At first glance, one sees bold shapes and the re-use of found text and textile fragments. But further exploration of each piece reveals a multitude of layers; a host of stories and life reflections. Each piece embodies my identity and draws inspiration from the prairie landscapes of the places I’ve called home. The stitch used in many of my pieces connects me to my mother and grandmother, linking their traditions and techniques with my own work.

My work draws on memories. Growing up in Nebraska I have a fondness for the open prairie where you can see for miles. My mother and grandmother were a significant influence in my love for clothing, textiles and design. 

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Plan B, 30x40, handmade papers, twisted newsprint, vintage map, textiles, stitching, acrylics on canvas, $2950

Summer Fields, 24x24, handmade papers, vintage Indonesian hand stitched textiles, indigo dyes textiles, canvas and acrylics, $1900

The impermanence in my work relates to the impermanence of life. I
am interested in the observation of my work as it lives, dies, and is
reborn again into different environments. As my body of work
expands, the concept of my work broadens, bringing new meaning to
old work and forming new conversations.
I relate my work to the process of conception, birth, growing old, and dying. Making impermanent work allows me to create the work and observe it
throughout its many stages of growth and death. By allowing my work
to die I give it a lifetime, instead of a timeless life.

Through the making and drawing of my work I. bringing awareness
to the structured within the work. Through making and drawing I
explore how the patterns are formed, and their effects when layered
over time. I use familiarity and arrangement to brings attention to the
anomalies that exist in the objects and environments that are present
within my work itself. I first examined the lifespan of one marker and then began overlaying the paths of two markers over each other. This work creates a narrative for itself. I am focusing on the relationship between the markers and the paths they generated within the confines of my process and my choice of materials.

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Magna Luna, 47x47, archival ink on melamine board, $5600

366 Days in a Leap Year, 20x38, archival ink on melamine board, $2650⁠

Colliding Stellar Triptych, 25x41, archival ink on melamine board, $2650

My goal is to capture the essence of place as it lives in my memory and hopefully to touch that place where it lives in your memory.

If I am successful, they may evoke a sensation that feels more real than if they were photographic representations.

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Superior View II, 48x36, Chinese ink, acrylic, gold leaf on panel, $4200

Misty Morning, 6x24, Chinese ink, acrylic, gold leaf on panel, $595

Wind Break, 11x14, Chinese ink, acrylic, gold leaf on panel, $750

In our increasingly digitized world, our life stories have become a curated collection of our ideal selves: perfect smiles, angles, and light. And while many of us subscribe to these unrealistic expectations, we still crave the reality of an un-sanitized image. My art, with its random drips and layers upon layers of paint, makes beauty of the imperfect and unplanned; it exalts flaws and erases nothing. It is a reminder that to be beautiful, we must not be unspoiled.

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Pink Happens, 36x36, acrylic, mixed media,on canvas, $2450

Trying to Clean Up My Act, 36x36, acrylic, mixed media on canvas, $2450

Plan B, 36x36, acrylic, mixed media on canvas, $2450

I concentrate on urban and natural scenes with a strong sense of atmosphere and light. Many of the urban interiors, including coffee shops and industrial creative spaces, draw from my travels to different cities and attempts to capture the feeling of each place. I seek to convey the feeling of mood of each space while telling stories through the characters and architecture that form the painting.

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Cafe Ipsiento, copper ceiling, 24x30, oil on canvas, $3650

The Playwrights, 30x40, oil on canvas, $4500

The Champions, 30x24 oil on canvas, $3650

I find inspiration for my paintings from the local wildlife I see while going on hikes and birdwatching. As much as I am inspired by the natural environment, I am also influenced by the materials I choose to work with. The diversity of watercolor paints allows for both precision and spontaneity which I choose to merge within my paintings. I use quick bold brush strokes with large fluid washes to create a sense of movement and time. The use of negative space and abstraction in my work allows for the viewer to interpret what they are seeing. I also enjoy creating texture and depth by using salt, granulating watercolor paints and intentionally creating watercolor blooms. I am inspired by the beauty of my subjects and try to capture their unique personalities in my expressive paintings.

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Red-winged Blackbirds, 26x21, watercolor on paper, $895

Goldfinch, 13x13, watercolor on paper, $395

Batik is one of the oldest ways to create patterned fabric besides weaving. It uses a fluid pigment or dye and a “resist” - hot wax – to slowly build designs. The dye is applied in layers, from lightest to darkest, and the hot wax is selectively applied to areas the artist wishes to remain that color or value. The wax “resists” subsequent layers of pigment. By layering pigment and wax one gradually can increase color and value range. Each layer of wax protects what is underneath it. This way a complex image can be created. The brush strokes visible in these batiks are not strokes of pigment but are strokes of wax. Batik uses transparent pigments. Each layer of color is modified by the colors beneath it – a light blue wash over yellow becomes green. I work on Kinwashi, a very fiber-rich Japanese paper, delicate looking but strong enough to withstand the repeated applications of paint and wax. I use both watercolor and Dye-Na-Flow for my pigment layers, and paraffin for the resist.

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Morning Mist, 25x21, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $1650

Leaving the Refuge, 17x21, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $995

River Channels, 20x33, watercolor batik on Kinwashi paper, $2450

Before I was a full-time artist and gallery owner, I commuted between my small town of Portage and my job in Madison, WI. Five days a week I passed two things that were of incredible beauty. One was a picturesque red barn, and the other a perfect copse of trees. One day both the barn and the copse were gone. In the space of one week, an industrial pole barn had gone up and the beautiful red barn was no more and a windstorm had take down half of the trees. Since then, I have walked over 200 miles of local roads photographing the farms along the way that have inspired this series of paintings.

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American Pastoral Series #30, 40x30, soft pastel on paper, $3250

American Pastoral Series #17, 32x23, soft pastel on paper, $2650

American Pastoral Series #34, 30x40, soft pastel on paper, $3250

I started working in a new medium this past year and explored some of my favorite imagery, pattern, and botanicals. Using oil and cold wax medium gives me the desired surface texture I crave the thick viscosity allows me to draw back into the layers of paint. I build the paintings with layers of color to create rich and active surfaces. The cold wax medium has a lush matte finish.

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Compartmentalized, 24x32x2, oil, cold wax on panel, $1950

Spring Storm in the Garden, 12x28x2, oil, cold wax on panel, $995

Quiet Stroll, 24x24x2, oil, cold wax on panel, $1850

Primarily a Lithographer and Book Artist, their work often focuses on the queer existence and memory, and their interest in queer domesticity and what it’s like living in and occupying these spaces. It’s not always good or bad, complex or simple, but it’s normal.

These spaces we inhabit are no different than any other, they are meant to be reclaimed and lived in. They are spaces of transition and are often temporary and ever-changing, something that they find cohesive with their own sexuality, queerness, and identity

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If You Need Anything, 19x17, 5 color lithograph on paper, $1095

Rite of Passage, 40x34, 10 color lithograph on paper, $3650

It Comes and It Goes , 28x40, 8 color lithograph on paper, $2450

Video conversation with Brian Wagner. Click below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5y6ZUFJHVi/

My work bridges the gap between the tangible and the fantastical, weaving dreamlike narratives that reimagine the relationships between people and animals. Drawing inspiration from the surreal and the domestic, I create magical realism paintings that feature oversized animals coexisting with humans in familiar settings.

These compositions invite viewers to step into a world where the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary, encouraging a deeper reflection on themes of connection, wonder, and the subconscious. I try to create in each piece a celebration of the surreal, blending whimsy with a quiet intimacy that captures the essence of the imagined and the real.

At the heart of my work lies an exploration of the profound, almost mystical bond between humans and animals. Through the exaggerated scales and surreal contexts, I aim to illuminate the understanding and emotional resonance that often exists between us. This connection, deeply rooted in both reality and fantasy, serves as a cornerstone of my artistic vision.

By juxtaposing scale and context, I strive to evoke a sense of curiosity and introspection, offering a visual language that speaks to the dreamer in us all.

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A Prayer for Peace, 20×20, oil on canvas panel

She Had Been Waiting for a Sign and It Came With Feathers, 20×24, oil on canvas panel

She Wanted a House Cat, the Universe Misheard, 24×20, oil on canvas panel