My Painting Marathon
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Mar 2009

April 1st

 by on 4/1/2009 7:47:20 PM
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APRIL 1, 2009
4-1-1 ' Ice Shelf' 


4-1-2 'Below St. Croix Falls'


4-1-3 'That Farm'


4-1-4 'The Only Snow Left'

Hello... I've posted the four paintings from today.  We were greeted by snow this morning, that was a surprise! But it was actually pretty warm for such a grey day and painting was not too bad.  I'd prefer some sun and another ten degrees on the thermometer.  

These are, as you know, 5"X7", painted on 100% 8-ply Rag Museum board with several different primers on them.  As of today, my favorites are those that were primed with two coats of clear shellac.  I tone it with some grey pastel dust to kill the white.  This is a wonderful surface to paint on.  The paint 'sits up' on the surface and doesn't sink in until it's dry.  It's a smooth surface, not much tooth.  This might be what seems good to me today and tomorrow something completely different might be what I use.  'That Farm' was painted on one that I mounted some very fine oil primed linen on.  I suspect that I'll be using a lot of that too.

The first two paintings of the day were painted from underneath the Hwy 8 bridge that crosses the St. Croix river between Taylors Falls and St. Croix Falls, WI.  It was snowing pretty good at that time so to stay dry and a little more comfortable, I was a troll.  That also goes with my Scand-a-'hoovian' background as trolls are important in their mythology and folklore.  

The light today was less than ideal, but the light snowfall made it a great day to paint.  As you can see the wet surfaces of dead leaves, grasses and trees reflected an enormous amount of color.  By the end of the day the snow was all but gone. 

I was surprised to see the large piece of ice left in the painting 'Ice Shelf'.  The ledge that I painted, only part of, is probably about 40 or 50 ft wide and pretty thick.  It reminds me that this entire area was carved out by glaciers in the past.  This little shelf reminded me of a miniature version of one.  The color at this time was very, very rich and enjoyable to paint.

After the first painting it was snowing harder so I just turned from where I was standing and looked up river to paint 'Below St. Croix Falls'.  What attracted me was the atmosphere, the distance almost a haze due to falling snow.  That let up but the river being so high had wonderful subtle patterns of a mix of foam and suds from the dam up river.  All of that made for a simple but calming color scheme to paint.  There were large 'foam-bergs' floating down with the current.  I added a few of them.

The third painting of the day, 'That Farm', was an attempt to back off of my view point and get some open sky and open land around me.  Of course it was blowing pretty good out in the open country so I decided to pull the gear back in the car and finished this one from the front seat.  I knew that I had another 3 hours or so to go and didn't want to become hypothermic while painting and not be able to get my '4' in for the day.

By the end of the day the snow was almost gone.  I wanted to keep the snow as a common thread through all of the paintings for today.  So in 'The Only Snow Left' I was painting in the Interstate Park near my house, and walked into the woods a ways to find this little smattering of wet snow still laying in the leaves.  That was good enough so this became my final piece.

Well this thing is rolling now. That means that I need to prepare for tomorrow with more panels, and I need to eat.  I'll try to stop back here in the evenings to answer your comments and questions if I can.  I can't promise how often I can do that, but will as often as I can.  


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Marathon Man!!!

 by on 4/1/2009 6:35:35 PM
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Layers, layers, layers... Not how I envisioned starting the first day of this adventure.  Lucky you though... if it had been warmer I might have been in running shorts and a tank top for this marathon!  The cold weather saved us that torture.

I'm about to post my first four paintings from today.  For those who have expressed an interest in purchasing one of these you will need to got to the Paintings page of my website where they will all be posted in a collection bearing this mug shot of me.  

If you use Paypal the shipping, appropriate tax (for MN residents) and insurance cost will be added to the sale price of the paintings.  

If you don't use Paypal you will have to email me and I will give you the total cost including shipping, insurance, etc..  

This link will take you there.

When you're there, click on the photo of me and you will open the collection where the paintings are all listed in order. 

I'll also post the paintings on this blog of course, use it to talk a little about each one and have a converstion with you about the project. 

Thank you for bearing with this work in progress.  - Marc


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My Painting Marathon

 by Marc R. Hanson on 3/28/2009 6:23:42 PM
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I'm feeling the need to shake off the metaphoric cobwebs that form from being in the studio, for what has seemed like a very long winter, and to get out and enjoy the spring weather (if it shows up... winter isn't letting go yet!).  In light of that, I’m embarking on a one month project that I'm calling “My Painting Marathon”.  Beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2009 and continuing until April 30, 2009, I will be painting four (4) small paintings every day and posting them here on my website blog.  I do have a three day workshop scheduled the middle of April and won't be able to paint the 4 per day during that time. In order to keep the total number of paintings at 120, I'll be sprinkling one in here and there on other days throughout the month.

Why do this?  A few  years back, about 2005, following artist Duane Keiser’s 2004 ‘A Painting A Day’ lead (which became a world wide phenomenon), I like many other painters started a similar project.  Mine didn’t make it too far.  I painted daily anyway, whether working on a larger painting in the studio or completing smaller pieces en plein air.  I’m a full time artist, that’s what I do!  The one painting a day for it’s own sake seemed redundant for me so I let it go.  

Now I’m feeling the need for a serious challenge, like being an artist isn't enough of one already.  None the less, I think that I’ve found one.  4 paintings a day for 30 days should do it!  Admittedly, it's a spin off of the Daily Painting movement, that's obvious.  Even while just sitting here typing out this post about the project, the word "DAUNTING" is flashing like a migraine induced - kaleidoscopic image in my head.  Committing to 120 paintings in 30 days is A LOT of commitment!  

Maybe I should be committed?  

Seriously... at the same time I'm eagerly anticipating how much this is going to teach me about painting.  Subject matter is in existence all around me that I probably walk or drive past daily without noticing.  This will give me more than enough opportunity to pay a little closer attention to my world.  In addition to learning to understand how to see otherwise neglected subject matter, I suspect that the experience will build a pretty good card catalogue in my mental library on the subject of atmospheric mood, and seasonal color and texture in the landscape. Then there are all of the discoveries to be made about the tools and techniques that I use from painting this many paintings in such a concentrated drop of time.  Efficient use of time! That might become the biggest lesson of all.  I don't really know what all of the benefits will be, but I look forward to discovering them all. 

You can opt to check in here on your own to view the daily paintings, or you can subscribe to my EMAIL NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION LIST.

In that case you will receive an email each day of the month of April previewing the images painted that day, or the previous day if I'm delayed in sending it out. 

If you are already subscribed to my list but don't care to receive these daily mailings, you can unsubscribe at any time. If you decide to 'unsubscribe' I will be notified by FASO, the web host.  At that time I will add your address to a folder that I can then add back to the email list when the project is over and you will be re-subscribed to the regular Newsletter without having to do anything else.  Or you can resubscribe off and on as it suits you.

If the purchase of any of these paintings interests you, open the link below for Sales Procedures.  

Sales Procedure


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