Selfie as a Rainy Day

I have been focusing on painting landscapes for the last several years. Until recently, I have been painting still-lifes now and again. I am now starting to paint portraits and figures. It is a slow start - making a few self-portraits - but I am hoping to increase this activity once the new studio is completed. In graduate school, and for a time afterward, I painted nothing but people. I have been missing the psychological aspect of a painting with a person in it and am seeing where this goes. Stay tuned.
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Painting on DIsplay at Gallery 360

 

Gallery 360
August 21 - September 26, 2021

Gallery 360 has been opting for the large landscapes lately. Up next is Lowland. Although I am not the main exhibit at the gallery, my paintings are in heavy rotation as they keep selling. This beautiful painting of a lowland area in Northern Wisconsin is 74” x 48” with frame. It is a stunning painting to see in-person. If you have a large wall needing a show-piece, head on down to the gallery and check it out.

Landscapes at Dow Art Gallery, Saint Paul, MN

 

Dow Art Gallery
I have several still life paintings on display at Dow Gallery in St. Paul on University Avenue near Hwy 280. If you are in the area, check them out. There are a lot of other artist studios and a clay studio in the building with many restaurants and coffee shops nearby. The neighborhood has also been infused with a lot of murals over the last three summers. It is a hopping little arts neighborhood.

New Painting: Still Life with Arctic Apples, Styrofoam Cup and Oil Can

Still Life with Arctic Apples, Styrofoam Cup and Oil Can 

Oil on canvas 

40" x 30" 

$2,100 

This painting is part of a new series I have begun that plays around with Cezanne's still-lifes. Through his still-life paintings, Cezanne sought a new way of painting and a new perspective on society (more on this later). As I am beginning to delve into still life with a new purpose and perspective, I thought it would be fun to go back to the Modernist foundations of how I paint (and understand art). But, I am adding a twist to each of these still-lifes that speaks to my era. In this painting, the background is similar to a winter's Arctic landscape with open water. The apples are Arctic Apples, the first genetically approved apple to go to market. Of course, Styrofoam and oil have had a big impact on the Arctic. Though a still-life, this is a commentary on what we are doing to the Arctic, the cold wild places of our planet. You can see details of this painting on my website.

Oil Painting: Refrigerator Series: Hidden

Hidden

Oil Paint on Panel

16" x 16"

$400.00 

One of my Refrigerator Series paintings. The rail in these paintings prohibits you from seeing the labels and the ingredients in teh food. But here the food items are being swallowed by the larger refrigerator as if they are hidden.  

Oil Painting - Refrigerator Series: Group

Refrigerator Series: Group
Oil paint on Panel
16" x 16"
$400

This is a continuation of my series of oil paintings on panel of food in my refrigerator. This is a particular grouping of canisters, bottles and such of a variety of food items. Although one aspect of these paintings is that we don't know what is in our food (the shelf rail blocks us from seeing the ingredients), I find it interesting that many people can still recognize the products in these paintings simply from the shape of the bottle and color of the label. Chalk that up to good branding. This is the fifth of five refrigerator door paintings recently hanging at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

Abstract Landscape 3

Abstract Landscape 3

Oil paint on canvas

48" x 48"

$3,000

Now available at my website. 

Abstract Landscape 2

Abstract Landscape 2

Oil Paint on Canvas

48" x 48"

$3,000

My large landscapes are becoming more abstract. In the spirit of Arthur Dove and Charles Burchfield, I feel nature expresses something deeper about humans and is a far more complex entity than we generally allow ourselves to experience. My recent landscapes are an attempt to provide insight into my experience of nature and, therefore, I am straddling a line between pure abstract and representation. I believe that it is the very pattern of water, which is expressed through water's physical qualities, that connects with a deeper rhythm within humans. Physical qualities of water, rocks, plants and sky are the results of processes that are common to our own physical and intellectual development. This is why we connect emotionally with nature. For me this is expressed best by sometimes painting a recognizable object and sometimes by painting the patterning or energy of an object.

I've recently added some more paintings to my website, check it out.

Abstract Landscape 1 - Oil on Canvas

    

Abstract Landscape 1 

Oil Paint on Canvas 

36" x 60" 

$2,750 

My large landscapes are becoming more abstract. In the spirit of Arthur Dove and Charles Burchfield, I feel nature expresses something deeper about humans and is a far more complex entity than we generally allow ourselves to experience. My recent landscapes are an attempt to provide insight into my experience of nature and, therefore, I am straddling a line between pure abstract and representation. I believe that it is the very pattern of water, which is expressed through water's physical qualities, that connects with a deeper rhythm within humans. Physical qualities of water, rocks, plants and sky are the results of processes that are common to our own physical and intellectual development. This is why we connect emotionally with nature. For me this is expressed best by sometimes painting a recognizable object and sometimes by painting the patterning or energy of an object.

I've recently added some more paintings to my website, check it out.

Fritos, Yes, No

Fritos, Yes, No
Oil paint on Panel
16" x 16" x 1.5"
2018
$400.00

My latest food obsessions painting, Fritos, Yes, No, has just been posted to my website. This is the fourth painting I've created exploring my love/hate relationship with food. Fritos, are without a doubt, my favorite lunchtime snack food. The saltiness, the oil, and the corn taste are all irrefusable. But, alas, it is these same qualities that make them so bad for me. It is so frustrating. So, when I do get a bag of Fritos they are gone in a minute. I shorten the ecstasy to not prolong the agony. Does it work like that?

Winter Morning - Oil Paint on Canvas

Winter Morning
Oil paint and charcoal on canvas
60" x 36"
$3,800

My landscapes are moving to a looser style with a greater variety of paint applications. The canvas in part of this painting is simply primed canvas with charcoal. Other areas are very thin drip washes, while yet other areas are thick strokes of paint. It is a very vibrant and active painting to look at. The image comes from Rainy Lake in Northern Minnesota. In the summer, I often stay in a cabin wherein the bed has a north facing window next to it. The sun comes up right in a spot where it angles in the window and shines right on the pillow. I can't tell you how many times I have woken up between 4 - 5am with that sunrise hitting me right in the eye. Often I will get up and take a photo and then go back to sleep. This painting is a winter version of this sunrise with active horizontal wintery clouds and the sunlight reflecting off the snow covered lake.
 

I Hate Myself for Loving You - Oil Painting

I Hate Myself for Loving You
Oil Paint on Wood Panel
12" x 20" x 1.5"
$375

 

This oil painting is of Oreo cookies half-eaten, broken and piled on a plate. I cannot refuse Oreo cookies. I also cannot eat just one. By the time I am done I feel terrible, physically and emotionally. I hate myself for being so addicted. This is the third painting I've created in my Obsessions Series, which is about my food obsessions. Normally, I write the title obsessively across the background of these paintings. In this one I painted little red hearts for how much I love Oreos. The edge of the plate also has the words "hate" in black and "love" in red.

Sinkside Compost #9

Sinkside Compost #9

Oil paint on panel

8" x 16"

$250

The ninth painting in a series of the container next to my sink where I place my food scraps before taking them out to the compost bin. To purchase this painting or to see the rest of the series, click here.

Blue North, Oil Painting

Blue North Oil Paint on Canvas 36" x 60" $3,000   This is a painting of islands on Rainy Lake, near International Falls, Minnesota. I - Falls is known for being one of the coldest places in the continental United States. That's during the winter. During the summer, it is a beautiful spot with clear light that creates intense colors and dramatic tones. When painting, I often think about Picasso's comment that all surfaces have energy. This is expressed in a painting through brushstrokes and color. I take this comment by Pablo to heart, not just about painted surfaces but also about real-life surfaces. All surfaces have an energy that radiates from the essence underneath. Originally, this painting had a smooth sky transitioning from light to dark blue.

In this instance, the painting looked more like a photograph might, a realistic depiction of the landscape. But to me, the sky did not seem to have the energy that the sky should. And it didn't stand a chance against the energy in the water. There is far more to the skies of Rainy Lake than simply going from light to dark. I started to put small strokes, like in the water, in the sky but it didn't feel right. Then I started painting in the larger flat strokes and the energy started to come. In person the layering of the paint gives a glow and intensity to the color, like the sunlight creates in the North Country.

More work, to view and purchase, is available at my website: markgranlund.com

Rocky Nook, oil painting on canvas

Rocky Nook

oil paint on canvas

30" x 30"

$2,000

To see more, click here.

Grassy Island Rocks - Oil Painting

Grassy Island Rocks

Oil paint on canvas

48" x 60"

$4,500

This is a dramatic painting of a rocky shore on Grassy Island on Rainy Lake in Northern Minnesota. This is the biggest painting I have created in the last few years. It was fun to paint big again. Its liberating to be able to make big strokes of paint without ruining anything. Smaller paintings demand more control. Also, it was a fun painting in that the surface has many layers showing. There are areas where the mineral spirit soaked paint drips down the canvas and leaves a wash, like in watercolor. There are other areas that are thick with paint, and yet other areas that have several thin layers of oil soaked paint on top of each other.  It was a very fun painting to make.

Landscape and food still life paintings and fine art prints are available at my new website: mark granlund.com. A 20% discount on all art for first time visitors/buyers.

If There's a Cure for This, I Don't Want It

Here is a time lapse of a recently completed 10" x 20" painting of bacon. This is part of my food obsessions series. In this series I am exploring my personal obsession with food. As the old joke goes, I am on a seafood diet. If I see food I eat it. It is a problem, so I decided to explore it in my art. For this series I am combining food I cannot refuse with text from popular culture dealing with abusive or unhealthy relationships - because there are many similarities and often food obsessions start out as a way of dealing with unhealthy relationships.

I create these in-between other paintings I am creating and will post them when they arrive. 

Sinkside Compost #8, oil paint on panel, 12" x 16"

Sinkside Compost #8

Oil Paint on Panel

12" x 16"

$300

I continue to make paintings of my sinkside compost container. My initial plan was to make a series of ten panels. I have completed eight and designs for the last two are chosen. This particular painting is heavy on the oranges and yellows because of the sweet potato peelings and a rotting orange. The style of my last two sinkside compost paintings is a little looser and more defined by outlines (see #7 below). I don't paint with orange very often and had fun with the variations of orange and yellow. I particularly like the plastic container in this one. It is an old baby spinach container with a peel strip that you can see at the bottom edge. The reflections turned out to be quite effective.

Oil Painting: Granite Face

Granite Face

Oil Paint on Canvas

48" x 48"

This painting is of a face of granite on Mallard Island of Rainy Lake near International Falls, MN. Although, from the island, this bit of water seems open to the great waters that stretch twenty three miles to the east, this area can be calm as there are islands on three sides. I find the rhythm of this lake captures my own personal rhythm and calms me down, simplifies my understanding of life, and brings me internal peace. I try to capture this by heightening the rhythm of the water pattern. Strong geometric shapes across the water's surface bring a sense of strength and calm to the landscape. To me, that is the North.

Oil Painting - Sinkside Compost #2

Sinkside Compost #2

Oil Paint on Panel

9" x 12"

I have a tupperware container next to my kitchen sink where I place all my food scraps that will end up in my compost pile. As part of my exploration of "edibility" I have found my sinkside compost an interesting subject. It changes weekly and contains food that either once was edible but now is not or it contains that part of food that is inedible; egg shells, potato peels, etc. These compost paintings (I plan on making a series) are painted on a cradled panel that I constructed. They are small and intimate, like food scraps. I will share more as this series develops.