Joni Finnegan, Fine Artist

It' time for me to make a major confession here. When I headed outdoors yesterday with my plein air gear in tow it was the first out door painting I had done since early November. I was so exhited to get out in the unsual warm January temperature (almost balmy)  Time was short because I had spent the bulk of my day at the computor working on the business side of my art so  I made a brief check  to make sure I had everything I needed in my outdoor gear case.   I found the perfect thing to paint easy, quick  just in case I was a little rusty at this after all that time and of course the light was changing fast as the sun moved down. I set up my gear and found that I only had 3 brushes, no rags and a pallete loaded with dried up paint.. I neglected to clean up my pallete after that last little trek out, I must have been sure I would make it out again.  But none of that stopped me. I had a lovely setting with touches of corals and golds from the setting sun, and I just needed to let a painting pour out of me. An hour later this painting was finished, a small 8x10.  I had paint all over my hands and I had blown the lovely  manicure I had recently indulged in-worth it to finally have a few brushes in my hand again.    I am happy with the finished painting, reinforcing the notion that sometimes the best work is done by giving in to the spirit of the moment.

Hi there, I have a sweet little painting to share today. Lavender light of winter, a small study painted in my studio from photos I took while snow shoeing back in those brief days of snow in Minnesota. After a few snowy windy days and cold frosty nights the air was alive with sparkles reflecting lavender and gold.

This site is at the top of West Point on our land in the country one of my favorite painting spots. Little dark eyed Juncos were feeding on the ground against a wobbly old fence. If you were to step into this painting and turn left you would discover a drop down into a lovely valley housing farms and back country roads winding along side the root river.  So many views to paint , just not enough time to do all of them.

 It's difficult to believe that yesterday I stood outside and did a lovely little plein air painting with just a sweater to keep me warm with the temperature in the high 50's. Tonight there are promises of snow again, and I am hoping it happens.  The few short months of winter fly by with time in my studio painting, submitting for new shows, updating websites .  When the weather is as nice as it has been I find it difficult to stay indoors and get my usual winter project finished.

So I am honestly praying for that promised snowfall. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this view.  Let me know what you think!

On Dec 3rd we had the most amazing snowfall, mild temperatures, and no winds so the snow stayed for several days gracing the branches of these red pines with an incredible beauty. I just had to paint it!  Since this melt we've gone back to a bit of a winter drab

It is no secret that I live in a beautiful area of Minnesota. One of the numerous reasons my husband and I chose to move to the Lanesboro area (besides it's beauty) was that it is a meca for artists, both perforning and visual.

  This small community with big personality houses the best non profit Art Gallery in the State of Minnesota, The Lanesboro Art Center, formerly known as the Cornucopia Gallery.   They have a great staff and an amazing Sales Gallery Director, Robbie Brokken.     Every year, the gallery hosts a gala evening of fine dining, dancing  with a live Auction and a silent Auction to raise money in support of the Art Center and it's programs.  ( fun, classy event!)

   The Juried artists of the gallery  are asked to donate a piece of their art for this big event, totaly voluntarily, but what artist in their right mind wouldnt want to support an event like this to help keep this fabulous Gallery around to show and sell our artwork? , My husband will be there to carry on the party and he does that quite well in any situation  I am a little sad that I have to miss the event this year, ( only a little because I will be in California with my daughter and granddaughter)

  Thought I would post an image of the painting I donated for the Auction at this Gala Event called Swingsation.

The Contessa's Place, Tuscany, Italy, a view of an old tuscan homestead thru the olive groves.   

  If you are looking for a reason to dress up, put on your dancing shoes, Swingsation is the place to be Sat the 6th of November..dont forget your checkbook and credit cards...   You do need to call the gallery to purchase tickets for the event

507.467.2446.

One way or another you deserve to treat yourself to a visit to the gallery, it's well worth the drive to this southeastern corner of Minnesota.

When this particular artist meets the public face to face it is always a treat . I spend most of my days working solo in my studio or outdoors, painting, photographing,  and gardening ( cant forget that part this time of the year, I just finished digging potatoes today and need to rest my body).  To get back to the subject at hand,  I enjoy meeting new people and am always overjoyed and honored when old freinds and repeat collectors  continue to make the effort to see me.

3 weeks ago we packed up all of my precious paintings, tent & display units and drove down to soldiers grove wisconsin for the Driftless area Art Festival. Feeling like a pro  I figured setting up would be a breeze this time.  However, I had a few moments of panic when I was so sure that I had left some of my tent poles behind.  - again, kudos to my husband as he patiently endured my little drama. It all fell together perfectly, and this time I made sure I had plenty of paintings with me. A few new signs and a little more confidence.  We met some lovely fellow artists as we set up, it was a warm freindly family type atmosphere in a beautiful park setting. With only 80 artists allowed in the show, the quality of art was extremely good.

On Saturday morning we all opening our tents up to a story book perfect Autumn day, , live music and fabulous food attracted a great crowd. I slipped out of my tent early to help another artist judge the high school art Exhibit in a tent in the midst of the festival, then settled in to see if anyone would be attracted by my art .

At noon that day I was called up on stage in the center of the festival to be awarded the Festival Committee's BEST OF SHOW AWARD!!!!  based on my overall body of work and presentation.  I received a big purple  ribbon with the award and a check, talk about a great way to start a weekend!  The ribbon proudly hung in my tent for the entire show.

Now  I again prepare for this weekend's outdoor Fall Festival of the Arts in Red Wing, Mn.  I have new paintings to fill the empty spaces in my booth,  as a few more of my precious treasures found new homes.   

 hoping for good weather and the chance to make many more new freinds.!

this is an exemple of a painting I just havent been able to part with.  It has a little bit of something to do with the fact that it is the ONLY rooster I want on the land.. just too noisy, My little egg laying beauties will just have to do without a rooster in the Hen house.

As an artist I fully realize that we need to continuously grow, not only with the art we make, but what we do with that art. I have previously stated there are times when my home is honestly overflowing with paintings, sometimes that’s just because I’m not ready to part with them yet. There is an emotional connection to every painting I make, some more than others, It could be just because a certain painting is just the right thing in that space, or I am so proud of my creation or the memories it evokes are too special to let go of. Eventually I am able to let go of it, hoping it will find another home with someone else that connects somehow to that piece. My art sells well enough, and I am utterly thankful for my ongoing sales galleries, special exhibits, artist receptions, and my web site contacts, but I often miss the opportunity to meet the people who purchase my work.   I decided 2011 was my year to expand my horizons by participating in a few outdoor art Festivals. After 2 years of research I selected 3 shows to submit to, based on the fine science of who, how and why for the crowds they attract and talking to other painters like me... on and on..      I spent so much time in preparation for this,  (worrying mostly)   Will everything fit into the car, or will we have to pull the trailer, what if it rains with the open trailer all loaded..   how much inventory to take, what if I take too much, or far worse, too little,, I always overpack when I deliver to galleries. Will I remember all of the things I need? ,, cash box has disappeared so I have to create one with foam core and lots of duct tape(cute)   Oh yes, I need to take Credit Cards, and wont have electricity,,,,,, and then we had the tent thing,,, months of researching tents talking to other artists about the tents, ,,, We took the plunge and purchase the best one available.(yikes!) next, some sort of hanging system for the paintings. My husband and I practiced putting it up and taking it down  ( twice,,, and our marriage survived it,,, amazing!)  It was a little like creating a traveling retail store, and I find I’m bit rusty on the retail side of things.    My poor husband, I'm sure I've had more than my share of crabby days in prepping, he just hangs in there.. knowing he needs to play several parts in this game, the pack mule,  doting husband, sales man, my biggest champion,  giving me his opinion when needed  and  knowing when to just button up  and keep quiet  when I do what I want to do anyway.    The day before my first show our neighbor  calls and says his son has an enclosed trailer we should use. We thankfully go over to get it and find it's really an altered horse trailer that could haul half our house!.  We go back to square one,  with a little tweeking here and there we delightfully discover that everything fits into the back of the my vehicle that I have a love hate relationship with. That relationship turns to love again. We had it packed so tightly that I had to hold some of our bags of clothes  ( no room for suitcases)   Then there's the what should I wear?  I'm not supposed to wear a patterned or flowered top according to the "festival gods" so I choose plain crisp fresh white. As we headed out the driveway early Friday morning  I am holding a brand new cell phone trying to learn how to use it  (our phone contracts expired and it was time to change ) I need it to use the little mini credit card scanner on my cell now with the program I've just received .   We changed banks one week before that and I had to do a trial run with bank  and the new system.... goodness!, we have climbed a mountain in the last few weeks without leaving our home.. We arrived to set up at our assigned site,, got the tent all set up and my artwork hung in less than 4 hours with no fights or trauma,, just a very nervous me..  I discover that for the first time ever, I have under packed ,horrors, I didn’t bring enough artwork ! Saturday morning my husband drops me off at the site 2 hours before the show starts( I'm sure he was delighted to escape, I was soooo nervous)   The first thing I did was spill coffee on my white blouse .. so all day long I had this lovely coffee stain (huge might I add)   After that everything went swimmingly good, I found out from the other artists that I had the "choice" spot assigned to me.. I was in a lovely shaded walkway with the water of Centennial Lakes just across from me.. The crowds of people began arriving an hour early and never let up!   It was a merry parade of various fashion statements,  every kind of dog on leashes you could possibly Imagine, and  families with over sugared children yelling" where are the mini donuts?"   I sold a few paintings and some cards and made the contacts with new collectors that I was looking for.  My art received lots of praise.... ( or maybe they just felt sorry for me standing there  with my coffee stained shirt and my hair plastered to my head with sweat from the  85 degree heat ). At the end of that first 10 hour day I was so tired I could hardly talk! The second day was even better, my husband stayed with me all day playing the dutiful roles he's inherited with this marriage  _ he  discovered there are spouses playing that same role in  every one  of the 400 tents in the show! Ever the master of entertaining he engaged customers and friends in conversations. I managed to wear another white top that stayed perfectly clean all day.!   We packed up in less than an hour and enjoyed a quiet ride home., our load a little lighter than the one we arrived with, we were both tired from talking, happy that some of my paintings found new homes and I had great conversation with the new owners,.   All in all it was a good experience and now we do it all over again this coming weekend in Wisconsin at the Driftless Area Festival of the arts, this time I will have more paintings!:)

This was a commission painting  of Rhubarb I did this summer for a fellow artist. I photographed the creation of her painting as I worked on it thinking she would enjoy and understand the process getting the finished piece of art.  It turned out to be appreciated and enjoyed not only by her, but to many other people as well, so I thought I would share it here on my blog.

Let me know what you think!

Being a true fair weather fan I favor the early hours of the day, when dawn slips a soft light across the land before the weather warms with the sun. One morning in July as I headed out for a morning walk I was gifted with a visual feast of a dancing light coming thru the morning humidity. I shot a few quick photos and the phenonen disappeared in a flash, so much of this painting was from memory , all of it done in my studio setting.  I could hardly wait to get started on the painting, it took me a few days to begin, but I am pleased with the wonder it reflects.   Let me know what you think!

16 x 20 on stretched cotton canvas

My apple trees arent exactly overlowing this year, but the few apples hanging a filled with promise of crispy sweet juicy bites.It just could be that because there are so few to deal with I have the time to paint them.  In a few years, the orchard we planted in 2010 will probably overwhelm us.. ( I hope) 

 this is a small 6x8 on canvas