- A B O U T
- N E W S
- G A L L E R Y
- C L A S S E S
- R E S U M E
- L I N K S
- C O N T A C T
My love of expression began early. I grew up in a small town in Iowa where life was quiet and simple and though my life is far from simple these days, those principles are still an important part of my life. I still find my most profound inspiration in simple nature scenes, my garden or in the memories of days spent on the North Shore of Lake Superior. More recently, my husband Gordy and I have been able to travel and I'm having so much fun adding those images to my portfolio of paintings. Recently I've been working in abstraction and collage (both objective and non-objective) and I'm finding experimentation in watercolor and other watermedia including acrylics (on paper and canvas) to be an exciting new way to approach many of my favorite subjects.
Although I spent many years not pursuing my art, I always found ways to fulfill that artistic hunger. I worked at many "day jobs" such as legal secretary, university secretary, greenhouse helper, surgical transcriptionist, and others. I found that each new work experience brought something new to my latent creativity. Then when my children were grown and with the enthusiastic support of my husband, I embarked on painting full time. I rented a little studio and began to teach classes and maintain a gallery of work for sale. To my amazement, people responded to my work and I began selling right away. It was so inspiring and further fueled that creative urge. My work was accepted at several respected galleries and started winning awards. Over the course of a few years, I have sold over 300 paintings to clients from all over the U.S. and abroad. I also contracted with a major furniture store for several years and traveled to their stores painting murals and background designs.
The new year starts with an invitation from Northstar Watercolor Society to be their special speaker/demonstration artist. My subject will be 'Ignite Your Paintings with Experimentation.' My newest work also includes subjects from our trips to Vancouver and Alaska. I'm also hard at work developing new workshops for 2008 and fine tuning paintings for my first solo show at Arts on Grand Gallery in Spencer, Iowa (July through August 9).
The whiteness of winter always motivates me to paint the colors of gardens and flowers in anticipation of Spring. It's fun to live in a parallel universe for a while! The title of my gallery show is 'HOMECOMING...THE FLOWERING OF MEMORY." I'm very thrilled to be doing this show since Spencer is my hometown and holds lots of wonderful childhood memories for me to explore through my paintings.
I'm also looking forward to teaching workshops in several NEW art centers this Spring and Summer as well as returning to my favorite painting haunts on the North Shore of Minnesota and Door County, Wisconsin (See Classes page.) NEW for 2008. Look for upcoming dates for Annual Studio Open House (party) and NEW calendars and greeting cards.
Education: Though I've taken many classes (University of Minnesota and Century College), attended workshops with nationally-known painters and read extensively, I consider myself largely self-taught.
Awards/Honors: Guest Speaker, Demonstration Artist-Northstar Watercolor Society - 2007 Demonstration Artist - Minnesota Watercolor Society - 2006 Annual Plein Air Exhibition-Grand Marais Art Colony - 3rd Honors - 2006 Art Colony Instructors' Invitational Show - Frank Stone Gallery, Minneapolis - 2005 Plein Air Exhibition-Grand Marais Art Colony-Second Honors and Peoples Choice Award - 2004 Demonstration Artist - Northstar Watercolor Society - 2005, 2003Art-St. Paul Art Crawl, St. Paul, MN
I have taught at the following regional art centers: Edina Art Center, Northern Lakes Art Association at Vermillion Junior College in Ely, MN, White Bear Center for the Arts, Avalon Arts, Countryside Arts, The Art Colony in Grand Marais, MN, Peninsula Art School in Fish Creek (Door County) WI, Owatonna Art Center, Minnetonka Art Center, Madeline Island Art School and others. I also taught in the after school program for the White Bear Lake School District and volunteered and taught art in the Seniors and Alzheimer's Program at White Bear Care Center.
I served on the board of directors of Northstar Watercolor Society and my work has been featured in several local and regional publications and on cable television stations. I have owned my own studio/gallery, Quiet Woods Studio since 1997.
Past/Present Gallery Representation: Tamarack Gallery, Stillwater, MN, Sivertson Gallery, Grand Marais MN, Peter Kess Gallery, Ely, MN, KahNeeTah Gallery, Lutsen, MN, Arts on Grand, Spencer IA, Iris Gallery, Lindstrom MN, Vine and Branches Gallery, St. Paul, MN, Fineline Designs Gallery in Ephraim, WI, Stillwater Art Guild, Stillwater, MN.
Michael Larson( Sunspots - Interactive Designs ) - Coder & Web-Designer
My nephew, and my Web Designer. Need a web site, or a redesign? Contact him.
Carol Seefeldt - Seefeldt Photography
Friend and Photographer. She took all the black & white images and the
pictures
of my paintings. All other photography is courtesy of Michael.
Karen Knutson
Friend and fellow Artist.
Madeline Island Art School
I teach here during the fall months. See my CLASSES page to view my schedule.
Fine Line Designs Gallery
I will be one of the featured artists in the Spring Show. See NEWS page for details.
Have questions or comments?
If you do not see the form below you can email me
at larsonmail@comcast.net
