This is likely my last painting of 2022. Gearing up for a year of total abstraction on large supports.
Happy New Year!
Lotus Series #07
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: Iowa
Lotus of Dreamy Forgetfulness Series #03
This is such a wonderful painting in person. I’m eating the Lotus Flowers again, just being in the same room with it. The photo is not doing it justice, as there are so many subtle layers of wet in wet, and various glazing attributes, along with a bit of impasto here and there. Contact me, via email, in the contact tab for pricing. Krishna Krishna is it’s subtitle. Thanks!
Lotus of Dreamy Forgetfulness Series. Installment #02
In Homers “Odyssey” Zeus blows the ship to the island of Lotus Eaters where, there is no joy without calm. Some of his men consume the fruit of the strange tree, and they refuse to leave the island, instead choosing to stay with the lotus eating islanders in careless retirement.
Introducing the Lotus Series
You know that I’ve been toying with non-representation in my work. With this new piece, I have found a springboard into how I can most honestly approach the subject, and what you can expect of me this coming year. It feels so good to stand in the same room with this painting.
Work in Progress revisited
Born Day
I usually stay on a subject for a series of takes and sketches. I’ve reached the finish line on this one.
Detail of Black Baldies
I feel this is a strong image of Iowa farm life.
Black Baldies
Latest works. Colors are just starting to change.
Untitled Pasture 03
Untitled Pasture 02
Untitled pasture 01
Portrait of a Young Lady
I have always drawn the faces of people. I just love to capture them looking at you. I’ve been away from portraiture for a while but, I’m back!
A little reel to prepare for First Friday of the Month Event.
Odebolt Elevator
Untitled Vines
Every painting is a reach in a new direction, or place. The journey is made until the brush is put down. Beginning, middle, end.
Lavalle House
Athene
A proposed pedestrian bridge to be built in West Des Moines connecting Racoon River Park and Walnut Woods State Park. Very exciting.
Crop Reserve
Because I constructed this large painting straight from the imagination, you can count me out as a realist. From the imagination counts as romanticism, and if it’s considered not ugly, it then falls within Romantic Positivism.
It’s a work in progress, as I see a few things, a few values worth fixing. Maybe some telephone poles. This painting is rather big at 4 feet by 5 feet and, I am getting very comfortable with the larger paintings. Stay tuned!
Amish Harvestore
This is an exciting painting. The unified palette being the reasoning. I gravitate toward the secondary colors, and this one is exemplary of this focus on orange, green, and violet, with a touch of blue in the Harvestore Silo and the faded alizarin crimson in the sky and along the horizon.
Bus Route
The early morning bus ride is often in the magical time of day for most kids who live out in the country.
Brenton Farm Silos
Night and the City
This sky will not let me go. So, one more before I attempt a larger one. Enjoy.
Iowa Farm Night III
I kind of like how this little series is developing. Time to try it on a larger scale. Be back soon!
Iowa Farm at Night – No. II
I continue to experiment with the many directions one feels are necessary to explore with oil paint.
West End
This is a larger version of my last painting. It was an hour later, so the pedestrians have changed!
Light Rain
I consider 10th and Locust, in downtown Des Moines, my neighborhood as it is three blocks from my studio. There is a rather decent Italian restaurant in the building you are looking at, along with the Temple Theater venue for live events. Across the street to the west is a Starbucks, also very convenient for coffee and meetings.
Portrait of an Unidentified Apostle with Donkey
12×24 oil on canvas
Keeping in mind that I am not a religious person, in fact, a recovering catholic as I’ve often called myself, I’ve often imagined illustrating a book of the Bible. Daunting, but probably fun. From what I understand, the apostles were all teenagers when they were called. This is why I would paint them as very young looking, as in the depiction here.
Serenity Close
It took me a long time to finish this painting. And it’s brighter, with more of a pastel palette than this photo delivers. It’s so soft and quiet. One you have to see in person to allow it to complete its sentiments of the day.
Farm
While I am studying and formulating my next ideas of the landscape and it’s language, I’ve delved in to highly abstracted observations in an effort to better solidify my path and direction. I did a series of three 12×12 square panels, this being the first. Stay tuned!
Sauk Country
The latest in the Iowa Sheep series which has found a home in a private collection.
The rural Iowa land scape continues to inspire this painter to reap the beautiful and true from the simplicity of eternal forms that surround us.
Escape from the Dog Park
Dogs on the loose break all the boundaries.
Young Frida Kahlo
From a black and white reference photo taken before her devastating accident. Enjoy.
The New Horizon
2021 has come to a close with this last plein air study. Here I now stand, after following the rules of classical form for five years of painting, at the precipice of knowing that what lies ahead is toward the abstract. In order to avoid painting another ho-hum landscape, albeit ones with sound harmony and sensibilities, I’ve realized, from recent in-depth studies of the principles of Cezanne, that true art comes from the corruption and violation of nature. One is otherwise making a replica or a copy of her. The picture is the thing. It is its own thing. A two dimensional thing that must be created in its own right. I’m setting out. Wish me luck.
4240
This is, most likely, my last signed painting of 2021. A little 11×14 house commission. Next year, I intend to turn a corner, instilling some new painting direction into my work. Stay tuned and Happy New Year!
Keo Way @ 12th St. – DSM
The north view looking out of my studio in downtown Des Moines at approximately 4:00 PM on a misty Friday night. I had been reading Erle Loran’s book on Cezanne, and it has influenced me. The color planes, the open palette, the lines, and the means, which were his own, by which he created depth.
Continue readingRacoon River in Water Works
This is the result of a two-hour plein air excursion in Des Moines. Though it is not finished, I am hesitant to paint on it again to guard against altering its freshness.
128 Corn
I have just a few adjustments to make, and then I’ll sign this one. Edit: you are now looking at the updated and final version. Thx!
R16 and 270th. Dallas County Sunrise.
I’ve been driving around the surrounding farmlands this summer and fall, taking photos of future paintings. I just got around to facing, and finishing this one, after starting it a month ago, and being intimidated by the light in it.
12 Sheep
It’s rewarding to knock off a small painting of, say, 12×16 but, I’d like to increase my production of larger paintings such as this one. This is still a work in progress and I’ll only fix a few small details.
Flock B
Farm life subject matter is something not to be overlooked in Iowa. In fact, it’s a challenge not to consider when looking for striking compositions here in the prairie.
South of Odebolt
Took a nice trip to Odebolt, Iowa to see some farming friends, play some golf, do some grilling, with a side trip to Boyer. Breaking trail with that one.
Dallas Country Grain
To quote, and borrow a phrase from baseball, “I’m seeing the ball really well right now,” I’ve got 10,000 hours invested in getting to where I can execute this sky and palette. If you go out early in the morning and look, meditate, on the color in the atmosphere, you will soon see that, starting at the horizon, all six colors (the three primary, the three secondary) are there. Follow me: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. From bottom to top. So fun to paint. Enjoy.
East of Adel
I am beginning to drive around the state of Iowa more often, scouting for those special places that may be painted in the early or late light of day. This was a barn just east of Adel, Iowa that I found interesting enough to sketch out. The light, however, is the thing I am after.
“F¥CK, Turn Around.” More appropriately, “Proceed with Caution.”
Trying to build a remuda of skies. This is a rather precarious one we often see here in Iowa.
Iowa Fields
The fields of Iowa have been in the news as of late. For us Iowans, we live, every day, with the idea that, if you build it, they will come.
Gray’s Lake Plein Air sketch
This year, in many ways, is a moving year. One major change in my orbit is to get outside and paint more plein air. Here is a little one hour sketch, in order to begin to stretch the plein air muscles.
River Walk Center Street
Three night paint out in Des Moines, in association with Mainframe Studios, Salmagundi, and the Polk County Conservation, began at the Lauridsen Skate Park downtown. This was my Friday night entry.
Mr. Randy Newman
I was asked to paint a portrait of this guy as a gift and, could only find a few photos where he is looking at the camera. I settled on this one, which was black and white so, I had to invent the color palette. Happy with results.
jeff klisares 