odds & ends... and new beginings!

Well, it'snow BB-Q! (I had to post this.) It's a scene from the back door. I hope to do
some winter painting, as we have plenty of it!

Last Sunday was the last Dr. Sketchy of the year. The theme was, "ringing in

baby new years." (I won some mesh stockings for my drawing!(ha) It was a fun time.

An old friend from art school and I went to sketch for a few hours, have a couple of

drinks and encourage each other to continue the trip! This was at the 331 Club. Just

a couple of blocks from the church with the gilded Tabernacle .

N.E. is an interesting neighborhood! Happy New Years Every One!

Tabernacle

Some assembly was required. All of the pieces fit together and it's now out of my hands.
It was placed in the back of a van, and is on its way to its new home.

I'm still on call incase there might be touch ups here and there.

Paul wrote this on the inside of the dome, and as always, spelled Whalberg AH instead

of HA, but everyone does. Renee is spelled incorrectly, but it's dedicated to her just the

same. I thought of her often as I worked on this.

Sunday will be the unvailing. Just in time for the big snow storm comming our way!
I hope they, and you like it!

LEAVED

This is the easel that the bible will rest against. below is a shot of my work bench
with all the parts of the tabernacle.

Freshly layed gold on the ceiling part of the top piece of the tabernacle. I layed full

sheets of gold for this. It's not easy to lay a full sheet of gold, but I did it!(many times)

This is the dome and the crowning cross. I enjoyed a glass of wine after doing this!

These are the 8 columns that will hold the ceiling/roof/dome. They are as brillient

as I could make them. There has been an add-on to this job, the 4 apostles,

Mathew, Mark, Luke & John will be carved symbolicly and gilded to set on the 4

corners of the roof, next to the dome. That will be done in January some time.

Right now I'm on crunch time. Everything needs to be completed and over to the

church for the unvailing this Sunday. I'm nervous of course.

I'll keep you posted!

home

Feels good to be busy! I've been laboring over

this Tabernacle that will house the Holy Bible.

Sanding, gesso, sanding, bole (paint) buffing and

now I have brought all the pieces to my home

studio,(heated garage!) where I will be applying

the gold.

Welcome to my mess! I know where everything is!

The Bishop (priest) wants to stop by to see me lay

some gold. I said OK, but I'm not cleaning up.

Speaking of good books, I just got my copy of

Color & Light by James Gurney. Its been highly

recommended. I've only skimmed through, but I

also would recommend this to anyone that wants

to make a better painting. Thanks Jim!

*******************************************

"As far as outdoor work is concerned, a studio is

only a garage; a place in which to store pictures and

repair them. Never a place in which to paint them."

Joaquin Sorolla Quote

making progress...

This is the easel, or Bible stand that will hold the Bible inside the tabernacle.
It is carved from one piece of Honderus mohogany. This is to be gilded also.

I was able to get started on all eight columns of the tabernacle

this week. They are coming along very well. They have recieved

3 coats of gesso, and are being sanded with 220 grit lightly.

I also recieved the 'floor' and 'ceiling' and will recieve the dome

that tops all this off this coming Monday.

I'm excited, they pushed the deadline up to Dec.11th! So I will be

working around the clock to get this finished.

I wasn't sure how to post this, I hope it makes sense. I will show

more as this progresses.

...but as things go, this is coming together nicely.

A Great Commission!

These are four of the eight columns of the Tabernacle. Hand carved and ready to gild.
This Tabernacle will house the Holy Bible they use for service. It is a very old Bible.

Last August, I was asked to submit a quote to gild a tabernacle.

So I did. They excepted my figures, and the 'ball' was in motion.

This tabernacle will be carved to the churches specifications.

Paul, the wood carver, is a neighbor of mine.

This is his drawing of the tabernacle,from which I concluded my

figures.($)

St. Marion Catholic Church, is Eastern Orthodox. It's located in

the Nord East neighborhood of Minneapolis.(My studio turf!) I

will however be gilding this at my home studio.

This will be a surface gild, or oil gild. I will be using a particular

22k gold, as it has a brightness unsurpassed.

I will be getting more peices of this tabernacle next week. I hope

to post its progress.

Giving Thanks

I want to Thank all of you for the kindness and support over

the past months.

The last time Renee was in the hospital, she said,"Thank you

for loving me."

I wept, and still do.

These are her praying hands. They were loving hands. Helping

hands. They changed a lot of diapers, washed a lot of laundry.

I thank God for these hands.

roads

This is the road that runs past my place. The sun peeked

out, and I had to paint it!

Oils on gesso'd board 9"x 20" 3 hrs.

silver linings

This is a scene from my front yard. I took artistic licence, because

Stapleton Kerns said I could!(ha)

The trees are there, but the creek is really the road in real life.

9"x12" gesso'd board 2 hrs.

Babe

I wanted to paint Renee today.

this is from a photograph I've had since high school.

I worked in Zorn palette. It was tempting to use

blue, but didn't. I'll tweek some things, but this is pretty much it.

8"x 8" oils on gesso'd board. 3 hrs.

Sunday Service

I have to admit, the fall colors are in peak.

A simple stroll through the neighborhood

is all I had to do for this painting.

"I'm doing the trip" A statement I heard

refering to the tasks at hand.

Happy Fall painting everyone!

oil on gesso'd board 5"x 7" (2hrs. of fun!)

Sunday Painter

What a beautiful day to paint! The fall colors are here.

I went out to the backyard, and painted a maple tree.

The sun and shadows kept moving, and so did I.

2.5 hrs. oil on gesso'd board. 5.5"x7.5"

Stape!

Well here you go pilgrim, see what I learned!

One of the blog sites I enjoy reading,(and viewing)

is Stapleton Kearns. Lately he's been explaining color,

useing music as a comparative.

Color strokes are notes~

I was moved to give it a try. The sun was picking up

a glare, but here it is, fresh as can be.

2.5 hrs. oils on gesso'd board. 6"x8"

I shot the non glare in the studio, but the color seems

washed out. I got a learning curve folks!

It just felt good to paint, Thanks Stape!

Skeeters Cabin

I went up to Skeeters cabin this week end for some R & R.

"Skeeter" or George, has been a friend for many years.

I've painted there, however this time I left my guns at home.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend my friend! I needed that!

And Thanks to Everyone! My Heart is filled with emotion,

as I continue along in this journey.

Renee

I started this painting of Renee from a live sitting at my studio, last year.

Since I hadn't finished it, I took a snap shot to work from, as Renee said

sitting for a painting was difficult.

Yesterday I worked on it. Although it needs hands and fingers and other

areas to address, I wanted to post it for you.

I will post its progress from time to time.

18"x24" oil on streatched canvas.

In Heaven there is no beer...

I don't believe that! If Jesus turned water into wine,(his 1st miracle) then

I'm sure there's beer for the rest of us. Moderation is key.

Getting back to work has been awkward, but a must. I hope to paint more

and post some of it.

Renee would want me to laugh again.

This was carved from an old beer barrel, and is the back of a chair.

(also, this is my 100th post)

Tribute to Renee

My son Wes put this video together for the service of my wife, Renee.

It's difficult to watch, yet so beautiful. This was Renee through the years.

Thanks to all.

I'm so sorry

My wife Renee is Dying. It's so hard to believe. My kids and I are

numb with grief. Renee is too week to cry.

I do not want to let her go. The Dr. & nurses can only make her

comfortable.

I will not be posting for a while. Thank you all for your kindness.

I appreciate every one, and everything the good Lord has given.

After much thought, I've decided to post this information.

A friend of a friend...

Ron is a guy I give painting classes to. We've become friends. He introduced me to a friend of his
that has this place in Wisconsin.

For 47 years, people can come and enjoy animals of all types.(that's me in the lower right, The turkey, not the pig!)

This little pig got up out of the mud to come over and say hello! He was happy as a pig in mud!

These kids were just hanging out.

I wonder if Stape would paint this in pointellism?

This guy strutted around like he owned the place.

I wanted a pony ride, but it's for little people.

The chics were beautful!

These are ugly ducks, but well behaved!

This buck enjoyed a cool breeze in the shade.

A refreshing dip, and quackers!

These animals are well taken care of, they love people.

Ok, everybody out of the pool!

This little duck ran up to everybody,as if to say,"Hi! My name is quack! What's yours?!"

This old shed had some old stuff in it. Cool old stuff, I loved it!

This Llama looks like he's thinking,"Your not getting my coat!"

Wilburrr.....

This horse was extra tiny.

This burrow was completly friendly.

The grizzly was in a pen, but had plenty of room, and a mate!

This deer walked up to me and started eating grass.

This goat got me!

This is my friend Ron! He is an excellent wood carver. I give him painting tips on how to paint

his carvings. He has (true) stories I could listen to forever.

There survey said most liked animals were rabbits and goats.

The owner of this park, called Fawn-Doe-Rosa, has invited me to plein-air paint on the grounds.

I can paint anything I want, and they have offerd to sell them in there gift store.

So my question to you is , How cool is this!? If you have any tips or ideas to share, I'm all ears!

( They have a lot of traffic, and I'm encouraged to sell my paintings.)