For the past couple weeks, I’ve been working on a triptych for an art crawl at 50th and France in Minneapolis, MN. As a local artist, I am partnering with a local store owner to create a storefront exhibit. I was motivated to pursue this opportunity after completing Artists in Storefronts in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis (December – February.) I read about the 50th and France Art Crawl and applied on a whim, fingers-crossed as always. I was accepted very quickly. My partnering store owner and I emailed back and forth to schedule our first meeting. We exchanged ideas for the store windows and agreed on a triptych painting which I proposed.
The idea is this: I will paint three vertical panels showing the cross-sections of three MN lakes near to this area of Minneapolis. By comparing the three in a triptych, the viewer will notice the varying depths of the waters. The colors fade in layers, getting deeper and darker towards the bottom of the canvases. WIth every four inches on the canvas, I represent 12′ of water.
My goal is to represent something close to home, three of our many Minnesota lakes; yet, I wanted to show it from a new perspective, teaching the audience something.
Over the last couple months, I have reflected on what I hope to receive from viewing a painting, reading a book or watching a movie: I want to learn. I enter into these moments with the eye of an artist and the brain of a thinker. I love to soak in new information (whether or not the specifics are retained) and I use that to measure it’s worth. Yes, there are some things that are great for pure pleasure, humor, enjoyment and surface-level understanding. Through my art, however, I choose to teach.
To learn more about this art crawl on March 16, click here.
Will love to see these when they are completed! Great idea…and paintings with a story behind them!