#95 - 3rd & Marquette

#95 - 3rd & Marquette
24x30 oil on canvas
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A new alley!!

I love how the buildings downtown can sometimes overlap, cross, or intersect and what seem like unnatural angles. As I have been doing recently, I was shooting for simplicity with this. I blocked most of the buildings in with a brayer, a 3" drywall knife, and an 8" squeegee. To finish, I stuck with the largest brushes I could use (a number 4 flat was the smallest). I pushed all the color saturation of the grays and browns toward blue and orange. It was nice to do another alley.
 
Sorry these are so few and far between. On the plus side there have been new opportunities that have been exciting.

#93 - E. 19th St. Near Stevens Ave.

#93 - E. 19th St. Near Stevens Ave.
24x24 Oil On Canvas

Here we are at number 93. This is another one from the Stevens Square neighborhood.
There are so many good ones over there!
Again, I'm pushing color and contrast while simplifying shapes.
I was very tempted to go full abstract with this. I did a few color thumbnails to make
some color choices and really liked them, but decided to try and find a middle ground.

#90 - 1st Near 4th St. N.

1st Near 4th St. N.
6"x6" oil on panel
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This small one is from a photo my friend Mike sent me a while back.
Up to this point I haven't used any photos that I didn't take, but this one
stuck with me. I kept it as a reminder to check this location because
I liked the look of it. It has an eerie, lonely quality. I had some time one
afternoon between things recently and just went ahead and painted this one
from the photo I had.

#87 - N. 2nd St. & 22nd Ave. N.

#87 - N. 2nd St. & 22nd Ave. N.
8x10 oil on panel
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Happy New Year.
It's been a while! Apologies to anyone following along.
I haven't given up - just had a very, very busy couple months.
The holidays and a pile of work kept me away from alleys for
Nov. & Dec. I had plans to finish the 100 up last year. Really, I did.
All the best laid plans...etc.
It's nice to get back to these.

#85 - North 10th Ave. Between 3rd & 4th St. North

#85 - North 10th Ave. Between 3rd & 4th St. North
9x12  oil on board

This was an experiment.  The goal was to do the drawing at the location and paint it back here from memory as much as possible. With the exception of a couple adjustments later, I was able to do what I set out to. It gave me a lot to think about with regards to what's essential and what I can do with it.

#84 - Marquette Between 9th & 10th Streets

#84 - Marquette Between 9th & 10th Streets - 8x6 oil on panel
One Friday at the beginning of August I decided to walk from my house to downtown Minneapolis and paint an alley picture, so I packed up a small kit and set out late morning. The Uptown art fair was starting that day and I sidetracked there to visit a few friends. I made it downtown by early afternoon and searched out some alleys that I had in mind. After looking at a few, this one seemed the right choice for the day. If you live in the cities, you may be familiar with the larger view. The reverse view is a parking lot and if you were to back up, the building on the right is the old Schmitt Music with the music note mural. The alley itself is pretty small. There's only enough room for one service vehicle at a time. People taking breaks were standing in doorways and up against small support walls that jut out. I used the large pipes running along the right side to lean on. They're about elbow height for me and extend to just inside the end of the alley. I did a couple thumbnails to start, then set up my small panel and modified cigar box on the pipes. I was able to get the scene drawn in and the shadows established. After a couple vehicles came through for extended periods and I was jostled enough by people trying to get around me, I decided I had enough info to take it back and finish that evening. I did enjoy the day though and it was a great hike around the city. I'm tempted to go back and do a longer view of this one, catching some of the buildings and parking lot outside this alley.
So many good alleys....

#83 - 12th Ave. S. & Powderhorn Terrace

#83 - 12th Ave. S. & Powderhorn Terrace
14x11 oil on panel
The shadows here were amazing. There a few short streets at the North end (I think) of Powderhorn Park that I hadn't seen before. I was over there taking a look at the park with the idea of coming back to paint the Midtown Market building tower that rises above the trees in the park. The lighted sign looks pretty great at twilight. But....I often get distracted by the alleys in any neighborhood that I'm in and then this happens.

#80 - Portland & S. 9th St.

#80 - Portland & S. 9th St.
12"x16" oil on panel (sold)

This March and April seemed endlessly cold and grey.  I've been looking forward to getting outside again. This one was from last fall while looking for interesting alleys. I started it then, but set it aside and finally finished it last month. Sometimes I run into complications that take time to resolve. Sometimes they never do. I'm glad this one did.
Apologies for the glare. I didn't notice until I went through the photos. This painting is currently hanging at Butter Bakery Cafe for the months of May & June. If I get a chance, I'll take a new photo of it later.

#71 - E. 18th St & 2nd Ave. S.

#71 - E. 18th St & 2nd Ave. S
20" x 16"  oil on canvas

This is in the Stevens Square neighborhood.
There are quite a few good alleys here and I'd like to get back to do more in this area.

If anyone is still following along - thanks! I am trying to get these done at a faster pace. There's always something getting ahead of them. I hope this summer allows more opportunities to search out new alleys.

#60 - 9th and Hennepin

#60 - 9th and Hennepin
12"x36" acrylic in canvas - 5-21-2015

Something a little different this time.

#55 - 2nd Avenue North (W. of 4th St. N.)

#55 - 2nd Avenue North (W. of 4th St. N.)
11"x14" oil on panel  - 09-01-2014

#52 - 2nd Ave. North, East of 4th St. North

#52 - 2nd Ave. North, East of 4th St. North
9" x 12" oil on panel  08-14-2014  (sold)

#50 - 3rd Ave. North near Washington

 

#50 - 3rd Ave. North near Washington 

8" x 10" oil on panel, 08-07-2014

#46 - 2nd Ave. S. between 5th and 6th St.

#46 - 2nd Ave. S. between 5th and 6th St.
24" x 36" oil on canvas.