A Little Update

Unfortunately other projects have kept me out of the studio this winter.
I have completed a few paintings since my last update, primarily images from my recent trek on the Camino Del Norte in Spain. I wanted to continue my work focusing on people and scenes, and so I started a series primarily of my fellow pilgrims and some of the cultural and traditional experiences we shared in Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia.  It is still a work in progress, but I expect to have a full show ready sometime this year.

Here are a few shots from last year's show at Red Horse Gallery in Fountain City, WI...

Here's a profile done in The Winona Daily News, in part for a solo exhibition last fall at Some Sum Studios in Winona, MN...  
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_561a3b34-2c8d-11e2-a121-001a4bcf887a.html

A New Year

 

The studio has been alive and kicking this fall and winter.

Last weekend the good Doctor Bob brought in his magical cabaret for an evening of dance, music and puppetry.

Other local artists have been dropping by with sketchbooks, paint and ideas, and I've been killing canvases left and right.

I've been working all winter on a series of paintings inspired by an evening around a fire with a few other local artists.  The challenge of capturing fire light has been a near obsession for me recently.  Trying to express moving light and shadows, not to mention the dramatic illuminations and darkness, has been a fun challenge to present myself.  In a similar palette, I've been painting some portraits and scenes from the interior spaces of my pub and studio.  It is exciting to dwell on local characters and events as subjects and a reminder of the vibrant, creative micropolis that is Winona, MN.

Cheers!

Ed

Well, hello there.

I begin this blog on the morning of my business's 4th anniversary weekend.  Some of you may have heard of it.  It's a small pub, gallery and music venue in Winona, MN with no name.  Some folks have dubbed it Ed's (no name) Bar, and we've co-opted that title for its Website... edsnonamebar.com

To make a long story short, I moved to Winona from Seattle, WA in the spring of '07.  In Seattle, I worked at the Hale's Ales brewery and showed art at a number of great venues around the city.  I lived and kept a studio in the neighborhood across the ship canal from Fremont  in an area my roommate and I dubbed Queen Anne's Arse.

This recent stint in Winona isn't my first.  I grew up there, attended public schools there and tried to make a go of it for a year after high school by working four jobs there.  I was a young barman at my parent's pub outside of town, ran a camera for the local cable access station (under the tutelage of local celebrity Al D. Light), worked at a record shop, and even tried my hand at making reinforced thermal plastic pellets at a local factory (don't try it. you won't like it).

In 1995 I decided to make a run for it.  I fixed up my step-dad's '82 Ford Econoline Van and decided to drive until I ran out of money.  Thus began my life of wondering.  

Over the years I have lived in the Puget Sound area twice.  I've traveled a bunch.  I managed an upscale deli and slung healthy drinks in a juice bar in The Virgin Islands, worked as a marketing manager for Bacardi and Jim Beam Brands in Minneapolis, got a degree from WSU, studied, taught, and walked in Spain.

In fact, my journey on The Camino De Santiago in Spain inspired a series of pastel drawings that provided the theme for many of my art shows while I was working in Seattle.

Painting and drawing have been a constant throughout my life.  Although I had some great teachers when I was a kid, I am primarily self-taught.  As a student of history, my work often looks back to artistic schools of the past -I let reference be my guide- but I always strive to continually develop my own recognizable style.  

I'll begin by sharing some recent work in this blog.  I'll probably include some flier design and older pieces from time to time.  

Occasionally I'll post about my processes, and let you know when I have a show somewhere.

Cheers!

Ed