Chinese Lanterns

Today's painting is sponsored by the color orange. Daily Painters picked today as theme day and it is orange.

When I was a kid we had a neighbor who had gardens with flowers and plants I had never seen before. Chinese Lanterns and Money plants were my favorites. I still think they are pretty cool. And mom said money didn't grow on trees...although Washington seems to think so.

And on the subject of listening to Mom - I somehow lodged a piece of shrimp in my throat last night and had to go to urgent care where the doctor literally scared it out of me - as he was talking going to the ER for removal it magically dislodged itself. So lesson learned? Always chew your food ... and stay away from shrimp!

Chinese Lanterns
6 x 8 oil on canvas panel
$120 + $12 SH

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Bee My Sunshine

Bees...my name, Deborah, means bee. Sunflowers...well...they just go together.


Bee My Sunshine
18x18 Oil on Canvas
SOLD

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Rocky Point

This is another little scene from my trip to Lake Superior. Painted one afternoon on the beach. My biggest fan was a beautiful young girl and aspiring artist. She kept coming back and checking on my progress. I hope she gets the paints she wants for her birthday.

Rocky Point
6x8 oil on canvas panel
$100 + $10 S/H

Contact me if you are interested in this or any other paintings
Thanks for your visit.
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Two Crows for Joy

A Gathering of Crows

One crow for sorrow,
Two crows for joy,
Three crows for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five crows for silver,
Six crows for gold,
Seven crows for a secret never to be told.

When I was in Grand Marais there was a group of crows that were always around the cabin. I watched them over the time I was there and determined they were a family. The juveniles were adult size but one of the parents would still pick up food or what looked like a small rock and feed one of the others.

Two Crows for Joy
12 x 12 Oil on canvas


Please let me know if you would like to purchase this or any other painting.
Thanks!

©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Silent Presence

Flowers and plants are silent presences; they nourish every sense except the ear.
May Sarton (1912-1995)
Belgian born American writer

Silent Presence
8x8 Oil on Canvas
$150 + $12 S/H

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. all rights reserved.

Cafe in the Morning

Another from Grand Marais. I promise we're getting close to the last of them!
This is the backside of the little cafe that was behind my cabin. Early morning.

Cafe in the Morning
8x6 Oil on canvas hardboard panel
$130

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Ghost Tree

This was at the Pidgeon River looking down the canyon away from the falls. Across the canyon is Canada.
I liked how the sun was lighting up the rocks on this bluff. And on top is the ghost of a pine tree. Some of the pines have died and turned grey. I think they look like ghost trees.
Ghost Tree
10x8 Oil on canvas panel

©Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Lost Horizon

I've been out of commission the last couple days with a back issue. I suspect it's the delayed result of all the painting, climbing and carrying my gear. I knew I should have gone to the chiropractor last week!
This was one of those mornings where the sky and the water were the same color - thus, the lost horizon. the morning I was painting this, a woman stopped by and remarked that there wasn't much to paint and when a boy ran down on the rocks she told me to just "pop" him in there. She was from New Zealand. She and her husband had been traveling through Canada and Alaska, seen the Canadian Rockies and the glaciers in the waters of Alaska - sounded wonderful.

Lost Horizon
9x12 Oil on canvas panel

If interested in purchasing this or any other paintings please contact me kirkeeide@mac.com

Thanks for visiting!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Sailboat Swinger

Funny thing about boats anchored out in the harbor - they tend to drift. I finally figured out a pattern to this one's drifting back and forth and would paint everything else until it swung back around into its original position and then quickly paint the boat before it swung back.

Sailboat Swinger
8x6 oil on linen panel
$140 + $12 s/h

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved

Lone Pine and following one's passion.

After being back to my normal routine for a week I've come to realize how engaging in one's passion brings a sense of energy and passion to everything else. Last week, I was up at dawn every day, watched the sun rise, spent most of the day outdoors, I was exhausted by the end of the day from standing, climbing, hiking with all my painting gear, but so at peace and couldn't wait for the next day to do it all over again. Now, being back to work, I want to sleep in, I'm tired when I get home and I count the hours until the weekend. What does that tell me? Believe me, I'm working on changing that.
This magnificent pine tree was right outside my cabin. Didn't have to go far...just walk out the door, set up my easel and start painting.

Lone Pine
16 x 8 oil on Canvas panel
$385 + $15 s/h

Please let me know if you are interested in this one. kirkeeide@mac.com
Thanks for your visit!

©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

The Rock

This was from the quick paint. We met in one location and at the sound of the airhorn we had an hour and a half to complete a painting. This one almost got away from me at one point - probably an hour into it I realized I was losing control of it and almost wiped it but managed to pull it together. Rocks and crashing waves are not as simple as one would think.

The Rock
8x10 oil on canvas board
Contact me kirkeeide@mac.com if interested in this painting.

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

The Sitka and the Boat from Maine

This was painted down by the marina in Grand Marais. These boats caught my eye the day before so my friend and I headed down at about 6:30 that morning. After chatting with the owner he said he would stay put until we were done. He even brought us a cup of coffee. Now that's what I call service. I wish someone would show up with refreshments every time I paint! One of the locals came down to check it out and filled me in on the boats. The larger boat is called the Sitka and the other boat was brought in from Maine and the owner is from Minneapolis. The owner told me had been spending a lot of time on the boat, had visited Isle Royale for quite a while, spent a little time in Grand Marais and was headed out to Bayfield Wisconsin for about ten days. I want his job!
This was another challenging painting, I don't know what got into me this week, painting subjects I don't normally feel drawn to paint, but I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm just happy the owner stuck around long enough to let me finish - I checked later and he was gone. Thanks Paul!

The Sitka and the Boat from Maine
9x12 linen hardboard panel

This one is not available just yet it will be in an upcoming show with Outdoor Painters of Minnesota

Thanks for your visit!
©2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

Rooftop Harbor View

I didn't have to go far to paint this one. This was the view from our cabin which sat upon a hilltop overlooking the harbor in Grand Marais. What a view, I think if I lived there I wouldn't get much done... it's just so peaceful sitting and watching the lake.

Rooftop Harbor View
10 x 8 Oil on canvas panel
$250 + $15 S/H

Let me know if you are interested in this one!
Thanks for visiting.

© 2008 Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.

A Grand Time in Grand Marais

I have returned. I spent 9 days in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota in the little coastal town of Grand Marais. I participated in a plein air competition held at the Grand Marais Art Colony. It was exactly what I needed - a perfect vacation by the lake, cool weather and a full week of painting.
This was painted out on the rocks of Artists Point that create the harbor in town. Lots of visitors walk along the rocks exploring and watching the waves. One thing about painting in such a public area is that you get to meet some really lovely people. On this particular day a charming older man walked up to take a peek and told me I inspired him to pull out his paints when he gets back home. He had a British accent, said he was from Ottawa and was visiting his grandson while here. We talked of painting, photography, his two favorite paintings which he described with such passion and detail, his career as a cartographer - hand drawing maps, the colors in the pine trees at dusk and how he found romance late in life as he and his lady friend sat and watched the sky turn all the colors Tom Thompson used to paint in his landscapes of Canada. He said she was a strong woman, she could help him carry an 85 lb canoe and he figures they have one more canoe trip in them before they say enough. When his son and grandson came back, he tipped his hat to me and said goodbye. I feel priviledged to have met him, I think I could have talked to him all day. He certainly made my day memorable and stole a little bit of my heart, I think.

On the Rocks
8x10 Oil on Raymar Canvas panel
$320 plus $15 S/H

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing

Thanks for your visit!
©Deb Kirkeeide. All rights reserved.