Herk

This a pencil drawing of a dog named Herk. Herk passed away this past year and Herk's owner is a friend of mine I would see them walking almost daily.  I wanted to draw a memory of him as he was in his later years and I think I got it.  He had a very good run and is missed by all his walking buddies canine and human alike. 

 

Spring Veil

 This recent 30"x46" acrylic painting features a late afternoon chore on the farm. I wanted to do some experimenting with light and shadow and see how much "soft" detail I can add without affecting the overall tones of the shadows and light in the finished visual. This piece will be added to the "Farm Series" and is titled "Spring Veil".  Prints are now available.

Award Dinner

This past fall I was recently honored by the university of St. Ambrose arts and sciences as a a distinguished alumnus. Family members and old friends joined me to enjoy a wonderful dinner and Presentation by the University's new president and staff. Included were a lot laughter and reminiscing with friends in attendance. It was very humbling to receive such an honor from the place where my interest in art was refined and developed. A day does not go by where I do not remember my days at Ambrose and the incredible people that made my journey into the field of art possible. That includes teachers, friends and family that along the way were instrumental in encouraging me to continue learning and growing. A big thank you to everyone that I have met while attending Ambrose. There is a little bit of everyone I have met in me and I hope there is a little bit of me in all of you. 

 

Ice Queen

This surreal painting welcomes winter, it is titled "Ice Queen Crossing Over".  Every now and then I like to do a painting that incorporates a lot of things that would not necessarily go together. The piece measure 36"x 30". and is an acrylic on canvas, stretched over a 2x2 wood frame. It is for sale so if interested please contact me to discuss.

 

Look!

I was having lunch recently and one of my legendary restaurant prints of "Sporty's" bar and grill was hanging on the wall. This little guy was pointing at all the interesting things going on in the art. It was just a lot of fun to watch him point out different things. Made my day because it drew him into the painting just like I want my art to do.

 

Neon Dreams

    

This commissioned painting  is the first  acrylic  that I combined a neon sign  in a shadow box used as  a frame. The end result is a really neat look that I would like to do in some new art that I am creating now. Dramatic look for art when placed on a wall with the right lighting.

 

Eyes Only For You

This painting was just a fun summer themed painting. I was thinking about the state fairs that soon will be starting all over in the midwest and I wanted to paint some cows but I did not want to paint them in pens at the fair surrounded by people.  The idea I came up with was  to show a reflection in sunglasses from a fairgoers perspective with a cow looking at them. I may title this 36"x36" acrylic "Cow Eyes" but will have to decide at some point later. 

Bonnie

Bonnie Raitt was in town for a concert and of course it was fantastic. I have been a fan of her music for a long time and she keeps making great music that tells a story. I saw her at the Minnesota state fair years ago and she still seems to have the edge for producing outstanding concerts. This artwork is seven foot tall by 32" wide all acrylic. 

Because Bonnie screams Nashville to me the artwork of course had to feature the Nashville neon connection. I still have some work to do to the neon in this piece but its getting close to being done. Prints are available of this piece this week.

Lonely Oak Tree

A landscape study emphasizing foreground and background. Color an tones using acrylics are so much fun to work and experiment with. This just radiates the summer sun on a hot August day in the midwest.

 

This piece started as a cloud study but turned into something else. During this political climate I often wonder how a full term of a JFK presidency would have turned out for the country. It seemed like everything changed on that day in Dallas. This piece is framed in a pine reveal and measures roughly 23" high by 7" wide. It is for sale.

Butterfly chasing a bee

This is a watercolor sketch that started with watercolor dripped on a mat board by accident. I liked the light color tones and it appeared to me to look like a summer field, the only thing lacking from the composition was a bee and a butterfly chasing each other through the field. Inspiration comes from anywhere if you look at it hard enough.
 

1964 Was a Great Year For This Couple

Recent sketch for a couple who met in 1964. This pencil piece was captured from an old photo they shared with me. It needs the right mat and frame but I think it captures the moment only like a custom black and white pencil sketch can. I was able to work from a jpeg image that was sent to me to work with which I took some liberties with in producing the final piece shown here. The customization added touches make it truly unique. Fun piece to do.

Two Cuties

This is a combination pencil, ink drawing for a couple in Chicago. I worked from a variety of images sent via email and this is what I came up with for the final. I wanted the overall feeling to be warm and loving and the blending of soft tones and even lighting helps create that effect. How can you not look at this and not smile. Fun art to produce. 

 

Last swim in lost lake

This is 36" x46" acrylic painting that studies different textures and light reflections. I chose a soft pallet of colors to help highlight texture differences between skin, hair, grass, and evening light and to set an overall mood.  Prints will be available soon of this painting.
 

Sketchbook

The ending of the school year means another sketchbook finished. During the course of the year I capture ideas, thoughts, different techniques and just fun interesting stuff that catches my eye that day to be used in lesson starters when I teach.  It's fun to keep a sketchbook because it kind of details the year.  I have a lot them and it's always fun to begin a new one. The above is a sampling of pages from my advanced placement class sketchbook for 2022. 

 

 Landscape study

This was a landscape study I did for a class but I would like to use it for reference for a larger painting I would like to do. I think it needs to be horizontally stretched and the colors softened, looking for a very warm sunny day feeling,  It's a start anyway hopefully finish it later this summer.

Leaving Clinton

This is the final revised version of this acrylic painting. the colors are a little more striking now and the contrast has been heightened. This 1955 version of the Clinton depot including the luxury train "City of Denver" was a fun painting to do. The whole area around the depot has changed and of course the train engine has long been gone. I think I got the feeling I wanted.

 

The Destination show at St. Ambrose college is history but the podcast question and answer sessions lives on. This show was a lot of fun and this conversation at the gallery reception stirred a lot of really nice memories. The link is listed below if you choose to listen about my process and thoughts on why I produce the art that I do.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-berger/id1398034429?i=1000558316490

Two new landscapes Studies

 These two acrylic landscapes were demonstrations  for a a class I recently did demonstrating foreground and background examples. ome day I will finish these two 12"x12" pieces and the other three laying about that would go with the series. 

 Bluebirds

This is recent on line commission work that shows how some requests for a painting or sketch arrive to my desk. In this case it was of two young girls who love Bluebirds.  I tell clients that If I can not see the image I can not draw an image so a PDF file where  I can see the image usually will work for a pencil drawing like this. The finished size of this piece was 8x10 and the price range for a piece like this is anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00. Time frames to finish work are negotiable, sometimes....

The artist reception held at the Catich Gallery was well attended and a lot of fun. Meeting people who I have not seen in years made the evening so much fun. After the show dinner and drinks flowed at a local watering hole and more memories were discussed, spilled and relived. Some memories have gotten better with age some I did not recall or just had to deny because I did not remember them happening that way. When it was all over it was so memorable to return to my college campus and be in the same spaces I occupied years ago. To be able to share this event with so many of my friends well it just does not get any better than that, it was a perfect evening for me. 

 

Spring One Person Show

Save The Date: March 14 - April 15

Finally after two years a show of new work. I am very happy to have this show especially in the Catich gallery in Davenport Iowa. This closes another circle for me in that this is where I studied art and was where I was introduced to so many of my life's tools to get where I needed to go. I think the theme "Destinations" is appropriate for this show because as we all travel through life when it's time to reflect it's the journey that tells us a lot about our personal destination. Hope to see you there.

 

 

Magnetic Rock Visit

This new acrylic painting is called "Waking the Spirits" at Magnetic Rock and features a young Native American women getting ready to bring her music to the forest. At the end of the Gunflint trail in northern Minnesota there is a geological rock formation that features this unique 30' high monolith know to the native Americans and early voyagers  as magnetic rock because of its magnetic properties.  The rock formations around the obelisk are for the most part are flat or well rounded. This sacred place is a little over a mile off the Gunflint trail and is a nice hike and well worth it. This painting is 5' tall and and 3' wide. prints are available.

 

Protest

This urban scene is a change for me. I wanted to depict what it is like running into a wall of protesters protesting issues that are hard for some people to understand. There is a lot of symbolism in this painting but you have to look around to see what is happening within the art, A nice change of pace for me to paint and fun painting to do featuring a lot of detail. This is another original acrylic painting  that measures 36" x 30".Prints are available of this piece.

 

Farmers Lament

This 36"x 30" acrylic painting features a farmer singing a sad tale  to anyone listening. This painting started out as a reminder of the times the small farmers face year after year. I was looking for a unique way to convey a lot of things with this imagery. A crop in the field ready to pick but a tractor that is all but buried with the farmers hope of making harvest. Prints of this painting are now available. PS I love antique John Deer tractors.