"Places Between, Spaces Within": New Art from Project Art for Nature

Left: Filtered Sunlight, Pastel, 10 x 8 inches, copyright 2011 Diane Wesman. Click on images to view enlargement.

For the past several years I have been a member of Project Art for Nature (PAN). I’m pleased to invite you to my latest show. Starting this Friday, August 19 Project Art for Nature’s Places Between, Spaces Within opens at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin. New work by twenty-six Minnesota and Wisconsin artists will be on display. Most works will be available for purchase. (See second link for participating artists.)

PAN artists create and share artwork to encourage protection, restoration, re-connection and stewardship of natural communities of native plants and animals.

The show runs form August 19 to September 25, 2011 with an opening reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., August 25. There will also be a round table discussion with artists on September 25, 2 to 4 p.m.

New Show

The University of Minnesota Morris is the setting of the lastest Project Art for Nature (PAN) Show. I'll be exhibiting along with twelve other artists. PAN is a collaboration of artists and illustrators from Minnesota and Wisconsin who work independently and collaboratively to create artwork which promotes stewardship of threatened natural areas.


Dusk, 6 x16 1/2", pastel

The two locations I focus on for the PAN collaborative are the area near our cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior and the large open space between Bald Eagle Lake and Otter Lake, two of the many lakes in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. The open space is filled with meadows, woods and marshes. The imagery of the marshes is often found in my art.

Evening, 5 x 16 1/2", pastel

The two small pastels above will be in the Morris show along with several other pastels and a set of four monotypes. 20% of the proceeds from sales of the art work are donated to non-profit environmental conservation organizations.

The show opens tomorow, Thursday, Ocotber 22, 7-9 pm at the Humanities Fine Art Gallery, University of Minnesota Morris. 104 Humanities Building, 600 East 4th St., Morris, MN. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday: 9 am - 8 pm; Friday: 9 am - 6 pm; Sunday: pm - 4 pm.

Please come see the show if you are in the area.

It's Spring—Time to Start Something New

Left: Purple Marsh, ©2009 Diane Wesman, 9 x 12 inches, pastel on board.

Spring is officially here. The days are getting warmer in Minnesota. This is my last plein air painting for the winter. It captures the view across the marsh from my house.

Welcome to my blog. I'll be an occasional blogger writing from time to time about my artwork, how I think about painting, and the challenges and rewards of landscape painting. I'll also share information about materials and techniques. You'll get the opportunity to look inside my sketchbook and see how those entries evolve into paintings. My journals will provide a window into my life.

I hope that my blog will provide information to past and future students. I teach pastel painting at Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. You can view additional selections of my artwork at Project Art for Nature.

In Purple Marsh (above), the intense purples and rusts are colors typical of my winter palette. They reflect the moodiness of a late winter sunset. As things green up I'll start using greens and pinks from my spring palette. But, never one to stick to local color, you will see plenty of purple and any other deep color that will give me the dark values I love.

See Purple Marsh in person at The Lake Country Pastel Society Spring Show, March 31 to May 8, 2009 at the Sherburne County Government Center. Join me and the other artists at the opening reception, Saturday, April 4, 2 to 4:30 p.m.