I love clouds, of course they are best when they don’t obscure all of the blue! This painting is the second one inspired by the transitions of season. Snow rapidly disappearing from the mountains, so fast it caused substantial flooding in North Idaho. The diminishing snow adds so much character to the faded mountains, particularly when the sky is filled with clouds and mist. It creates a kind of ghostly magical quality that is so subtle but so inspiring.
I am framing work for an upcoming exhibit. Part of the process is editing your work and trying to select the most powerful pieces. I took this photo of three of my small cloudscapes… only two will go. I have my opinions but would love to hear from you! Which two paintings do you like the best?
This weekend I didn’t get enough work done. I did manage to varnish and frame this recent painting. I am still scrambling to get work ready for my solo show at the McVarish Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. That opens June 9th and last into mid July.
This is a 16″x20″ acrylic painting. As summer approaches I wanted to capture snow disappearing from the mountains… “between the snowman and the rain”. I have painted two northwest alpine scenes along these lines. They both have an ethereal ghostly presence that I really enjoy. I will post the other painting soon.
This is a detail from “Snoqualmie”.
This is a 14″x11″ painting. I love to play around with the shifting forms of clouds and light. The behavior of the paint and the way it is manipulated is the star of the show here!
Two of my 14″x11″ paintings featuring pink clouds. I am varnishing and framing these two works for the upcoming art exhibit in Astoria, Oregon.
A little moody forest scene. I painted this one a couple months back and decided it looked great in an extra frame I had! I was planning on taking it to my show but it looks like I have sold it this morning… I really should focus on retaining work for my exhibit that is just two weeks out! A bird in the hand? Poor bird.
As my June 9th solo show approaches I am gathering together works and documenting new paintings.
This painting, “Crashing”, is 20″x16″ acrylic/ open acrylic on aluminum panel. The panel is primed with gesso and treated much like any other hard surface used for painting.
This last week was a good week for me. I mailed off 8 paintings. Work sent to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Germany!
Selling work through my website and Instagram account (@bsostrom) is fun and satisfying. As an independent artist I am taking on all the promotional responsibility along with negotiating, packing and shipping. Ideally I would just like to spend my time painting but nothing is that simplistic and as an artist you have to hustle and scramble to make ends meet.
Thanks you for your support and interest!
This 20″x16″ painting on panel is called “Roaring”. This is a potential show image for my exhibit in Astoria, Oregon. The show is called “Transitions” and will be at the McVarish Gallery from June 9th through July 12th!
The gallery is very new, I believe my show is the fourth show in the space. I am very excited to head back to Astoria!
brian sostrom 