Once I was in my studio I decided to work the image from left to right with a purple sky blending toward true blue. And it's darker at the lower sky becoming brighter to the top. So you would know how very bright the sun was that day, I added lighter sunrays streaking into the branches. You can see a bit of the snarled dark wood but it's a matter of less being more. I shaped the top of the tree as a mound falling off to left and right--it's kind of my thing to have curving lines in my work. And instead of fading blooms and lost petals I restored them to spring fresh, golden flowers.

The original is full width (with prints at my online store, original to follow) but I've been seeing some interesting presentations of wide art cut in half and framed separately. Two such pieces are called a diptych. There are advantages to doing that. The academic in me knows that it creates a fine mental puzzle for the eye and brain to solve. The practical person sees how it can be mounted on two walls wrapping a corner. The artist knows it enhances leading lines to guide the viewer to see the entire painting as intended. And an entrepreneur knows that it fits into more spaces and allows a single half to be sold to those who want the art with a lower price tag. 

I'm all about trying knew things so I cut the first canvas in half and stretched them into the diptych myself! The video at the very bottom of the newsletter is a speeded up look at my process to do that part!

I'm displaying some of my work in a local business celebrating their first year, Let's Shine Coffee in Hillsboro. We love the cozy, friendly atmosphere with excellent food and specialty drinks and we support the store with regular visits. Our daughter even gave us a generous gift card so we can go more often! Here's how the diptych looks on display (and priced to sell either half or the whole). I also laminated the right portion of a print of Spring Wood on handmade paper to a sugar maple board that's a leftover piece from new bookcases in our guest suite; I routered a keyhole mount on the back so it sits flush to the wall and makes an attractive shadow. If you're in The Driftless area of southwestern Wisconsin stop in to see my work and other local artists and stay to have something good to eat. My favorites are the Driftless Glacier coffee, a breakfast sandwich and a hempie! 

I used to hate stretching canvases but found the meditative qualities in the work. Better tools, more skill, less need to obsess everything into place-- my hands now dance around the frame, a contemplative work with time to think and plan!

Wonder what I do in my spare time? Click the image of Spring Wood below to access the one minute YouTube video of me stretching and framing the half-canvas pieces!

I'm a friendly person who likes to communicate with my subscribers. It helps guide my decisions about what kind of images to create. I doesn't cost anything to inquire about my work, share your ideas, or get suggestions. In the footer below are links to contact me directly.

PS: I show my images in room settings for context. And I make those images appear large so you can see them better. But while the originals are a fixed size (usually about 25 inches on the longest dimension), hi-res fine art prints are available in many sizes from very small to huge. There's no loss of quality in the reproduction because my working files are massive, between 2 and 4 gigabytes each!