Who doesn't love a fancy painted turtle? I am finding I am really digging painting them. They have such an interesting smooth vs. wrinkle, bright orange/yellow vs, dark gray/green thing going on, and they are super cute to boot😍 Anyway you may have noticed this is my second painted turtle in recent months, the first one sold almost immediately and I received some inquiries about it after. If you missed picking up the last one you can get this little buddy now to hang on your wall or give as a gift🐢💕

This is an original 6"x6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas (that means it can be hung as is or framed). You can nab it for your own collection it here.

The Painted Turtle 2

©2021, 6” x 6”, Acrylic on Canvas. You can purchase this piece here.

The American Bison is such a keystone species. It is hard to imagine there was a time when they were almost wiped out. When I went through Yellowstone there were so many it seemed that they ruled the park. I was riding through on my motorcycle, considering the sheer audacity of a two wheeled object trying to exist around those ginormous, sometimes feisty, beings. But the truth was I had rode my motorcycle all the way from Minnesota to Yellowstone and had only seen bison behind fences up until that point. A couple centuries earlier that whole area would have been home to millions of Bison (around 50 million to be precise).

You probably already know that Bison were nearly hunted to extinction. Hunting combined with foreign bovine disease brought their numbers down under 1000.

Under 1000. Isn’t that just hard to fathom – from 50 million to less then 1000. Ugh.

I looked it up and there are now close to 30,000 (again, 30,000 compared to millions). This piece is about all that. It is about the toughness it takes to survive. How even soft, cuddly looking critters have to struggle through. When I started painting this I was in a situation where I found myself working with some difficult personalities that reminded me of myself when I was younger. The situation brought me back to being a kid in a difficult situation and I remembered what it was like to have to toughen up in order to survive. I changed and took on new habits like acting tough, wearing different clothing, eschewing bright colors. rejecting the idea of close relationships esp. romantic ones. As I toughened up I buried my soft side. I didn’t want to, and I certainly didn’t want to be in the situation that forced me to, but sometimes we don’t have a choice.

That is how I feel about the Bison. They had no choice, just like any animal around us, they are subject to the whims of us powerful humans. The near extinction of a keystone species and America’s largest land mammal is truly embarrassing moment in our shared history, but it needs to be used as a learning moment. As the beings with the majority of the power we humans have a duty to make better choices. Lets consider the gentle beings around us and do better❤

Feat. American Bison, Milkweed, Thistle, Goatsbeard, Monarch Butterfly

The Sweet Monarch of the Plains

©2021, 12” x 9”, Acrylic on Canvas. You can purchase this piece here.

This skunk wanders along, sniffing at the world, while the busy buzzing bees go about their business. The soft air smells so good. The pollen and fragrant forest scents floats on the breeze, bringing with them a happy hive of activity as the critters start moving about. The skunk considers his next snack as he rustles along the forest floor, pondering the activity of the pollinators.

This piece was inspired by all of pollinators I spotted this summer and I had the urge to paint a skunk after a friend asked me if I had painted one yet. It is interesting to ponder what a bee might think of the stinky skunk, and what the slow skunk might think of the busy bee.

8”x 8” acrylic paint on gallery wrapped canvas (gallery wrapped means it can be hung framed or unframed). Feat. Wood Anemone, Trillium, Striped Skunk, and Plasterer Bees. You can purchase this piece here.

Sweet Smelling Sniffer

©2021, 8” x 8”, Acrylic on Canvas. You can purchase this piece here.

You never know what secret critter may be peering at you from the wild. A sticky stick bug camouflaged in the branches, a moth sitting as still as a leaf, or a small feline watching, waiting😻

This piece is one of those paint doodles I create from time to time. Started as a lesson plan for a class it became creative play for leaf painting as I practiced highlights and lowlights. I loved this little 6"x6" piece so until it it graces your wall I will let it peer at me from mine😁

This painting is a 6"x6" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas - which means it is ready to hang as is when it arrives at your front door. $80 + $10 shipping and you can purchase it here.

Peering from the Underbrush

©2021, 6” x 6”, Acrylic on Canvas. You can purchase this piece here.

I am a slow painter. I spent years preparing my last body of work, "Wild Whimsy of the Northwoods," and there are still pieces that I am working on that did not make it in. As I neared the end of working on the show I had this urge to paint a turtle to that I could add in. I held off (which was good judgement on my part as I just barely got the work ready in time for the delivery to the gallery), but immediately started in after I finished photographing and packaging the art. I painted a Painted Turtle for two reason. First - I love the textures and designs on them, and second, I loved the name. The day I started painting this bugger I actually met a painted turtle on the road and had to herd it across to prevent it from being ran over. I love turtles. They are slow, like me, and they are sweet. I am a painted turtle, and this painted turtle is me🐢

This Painted Turtle is joined by a Clouded Sulphur butterfly somewhere on a glistening stone in a lake or pond. This small, 6"x6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas is available for sale here. If you can relate to this slow, sweet, peaceful little guy I think it should find a home on your wall💚💙🧡

The Painted Turtle

©2021, 6” x 6”, Acrylic on Canvas. You can purchase this piece here.