I love the Amana Colonies!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

I have always loved the Amanas. Growing up in Iowa, the Amana Colonies and the rich history of the farming community were part of our fabric.  I remember going to the Ox Yoke Inn for dinner on special occasions. Maybe its also because it touches on my German history (my dad Dietrich Schaefer immigrated from Germany to the US in the 1950's).  It is a pleasure to paint the traditional barns and buildings of the Amana. I love how quiet East Amana is- it is mostly residential. The barns at the entrance to East Amana greet you as you drive up the steep entrance perpendicular to the railroad tracks. Pictured below is my newest painting, "East Amana Barn, Late Summer".




"East Amana Barn, Late Summer" Oil on Canvas Board 18"x14" copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson

  I began with a canvas toned in yellow ochre and painted a full oil underpainting on-site with my new plein air pochade box from Guerrilla Painter (I highly recommend the Large French Resistance size as it is flexible to fit many canvas sizes). It was a windy day and a few clumps of dried grass flew on to the canvas- had to pick them out with the palette knife. Due to the wind this time I allowed the underpainting to dry and then finished the Daubism piece back in my studio. I have experimented with doing a full underpainting and Daubism technique on site as a total plein air piece with no work in the studio, it is a little trickier but absolutely works- just have to be careful I don't smear anything when transporting back home, and hope for no wind or light wind. Lots of paper towels on hand helps too!

Maquoketa Art Experience Opening a Success!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

It was a wonderful night - warm early fall in Iowa- the perfect spot for an art opening at Maquoketa Art Experience. Photos from our exhibit "Drips + Daubs: Painters Zeran and Tollefson Explore Nature" are below. Thank you to Paula Neuhaus and the team at MAE. Thank you also to Mary Zeran, artist extraodinare! Our exhibit will run until the 1st week of December. Please check it out if you are in the Maquoketa area!

View of gallery before opening reception. Paintings from Mary Zeran on left, paintings from Dena Tollefson on facing wall.



Daubism paintings by Dena Tollefson



Collage paintings by Mary Zeran

Please Join Me in Maquoketa!

"Dordogne Tulips" 40"x30" Oil on Stretched Cotton Canvas copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Please join Mary Zeran and me at the Maquoketa Art Experience on Friday, Oct 7th 6-9PM for the opening reception of  "Drips + Daubs: Artists Mary Zeran and Dena Tollefson Explore Nature". 

This is stop #2 for our 2-person show.  Mary and I are touring this exhibit throughout the Midwest.

We are so excited about this venue. Director Paula Neuhaus has been really awesome- and a lot of fun to work with.

The exhibit runs Oct 4, 2011- Nov 4, 2011 at the Maquoketa Art Experience. I hope to see you there!!

124 S. Main Street
Maquoketa, Iowa 52060
http://www.maquoketa-art.org/

Jeff Vileta Named That Painting: "Whirling Wading"

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Jeff Vileta named that painting... "Whirling Wading"

Thank you to all the folks who emailed and posted your painting name ideas to Facebook!  There were 22 options to choose from.

I had a dickens of a time dowselecting to the final- there were so many excellent suggestions.  I really appreciate you! Have a great day, and thanks, Jeff for naming that painting

"Whirling Wading" 30"x40" Oil on Canvas copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson

Please Help Me Name this Painting

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Hi-
Please help me name this new painting! It is a Great Egret - the first in a series of large water bird paintings...

Untitled 30"x40" Oil on Canvas Copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson

This painting will be exhibited at Wiederspan Gallery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in October as part of the Fall Metro Gallery Tour  (Event night is Thursday, Oct 20th 2011 5-8PM).

Please write your painting name idea in the comment field below, email me, or write on my Facebook page. I look forward to hearing your ideas!! Thank you in advance for your help!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Thank you to Olivia Vandenberg for the neat review! Click here to see her article.
I appreciate your kind words and support of my work. This Corn series has been a lot of fun to do.  I am thinking of the corn as individuals who have adventures & emotions. Have a great day!

"Corn V" Oil on Stretched Cotton Canvas 18"x24" copyright 2008 Dena Tollefson

New Gallery Representation: Quad City Arts Rock Island, Illinois

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

I am delighted to announce Quad City Arts is now representing me in Rock Island, Illinois! Many thanks to Dawn Wohlford-Metallo and the staff of Quad City Arts.  Click here to learn more about the gallery program . I have Daubism pieces at the gallery (see photo below). Am gearing up for a Corn Series exhibit to be held in July 2012 at the Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Illinois through their program.

Photo of Quad City Arts Gallery , Rock Island Illinois. Photo courtesy http://www.quadcityarts.com/about%20us.asp

Thank you Art Guild of Burlington!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/


Thank you to Judy Smithson-Hilkin, Jim Hilkin, and the members of the  Art Guild of Burlington   for a wonderful exhibit and reception! The space, the lighting, the food, the flowers, and most of all, the warmth from the people of Burlington really showed through. There were an estimated 150 people who attended the Saturday Member's wine tasting event and the Sunday public opening. Our exhibit "Drips and Daubs: Artists Zeran and Tollefson Explore Nature" continues until August 28th, 2011- please check it out if you are in the Burlington area!

Drips and Daubs: Artists Zeran and Tollefson Explore Nature

by Dena Tollefson

http://www.denatollefson.com/

"Asa's Sky" 18"x24" Oil on Cotton Canvas Board copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson

My artist friend Mary Zeran and I are gearing up for our 2 person exhibit to be held later this month at the Art Guild of Burlington in Burlington, Iowa. This exhibit is entitled "Drips and Daubs: Artists Zeran and Tollefson Explore Nature". What I think is neat about this is that Mary and I are both using nature themes in our work, but our approaches are so different. It's the juxtaposition of these 2 approaches in one venue- showing how people can look at the same thing and yet have very different responses to it physically and emotionally.

Mary and I will each bring 20 paintings to the exhibit and the Art Guild of Burlington will curate from these. It will be a packing feat to fit all 40 paintings in a minivan- lots of bubble wrap involved! There will be a Members’ Wine Tasting Event on Saturday, July 30 6pm-9pm and then a Public Opening Reception the next afternoon on Sunday, July 31st from 1PM to 3PM.

The exhibit runs July 30 2011 -August 28, 2011. I hope to see you there!
 
Burlington is such a beautiful city- Mary and her wonderful mother gave me a quick tour when we were there a few months ago. I learned that Burlington was an important part of the Underground Railroad. I also saw Snake Alley- I had heard about it, but never seen it in person. Mary told me the cobblestone layout was designed to help horses keep their balance when they went down the winding hill.


I hope you can make it to the exhibit!




To learn more:


Mary's website http://www.maryzeran.com/   Mary's Blog http://www.mary-zeran.blogspot.com/

The Art Guild of Burlington's Website www.artguildofburlington.org/

Painting Demo at Catiri's Art Oasis Saturday, May 28th

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Looking for something to do on Memorial Day weekend? Come on out to Catiri's Art Oasis in historic Amana, Iowa! I am doing a painting demonstration of my Daubism technique as part of Art In Action. Here are the details:




"A Calm Day" 24"x18" Oil on Stretched Cotton Canvas copyright 2011 Dena Tollefson 

• Date: Saturday, May 28, 2011
• I'll be doing my demo from 11AM-2PM. Will be starting with a smooth underpainting and adding oil paint layers with the palette knife.
• Location: Catiri’s Art Oasis Gallery in Amana, Iowa. 4513 220th Trail Amana, Iowa 52203 Phone: (319) 622-3969 , gallery website http://www.catiriartoasis.com
• The event is free and open to the public.
• There is always so much to see and do in Amana. Gotta stop over to the Amana bakery for one of those fabulous coconut and pecan cookies.
• I would love to see you there!

Dena Tollefson Now Represented by CornerHouse Gallery



"Starlight, Starbright" Oil on stretched cotton canvas 44"x44" copyright Dena Tollefson

 by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

 I'm excited to announce I am now represented by CornerHouse Gallery and Frame in Cedar Rapids, Iowa! Come on out to the gallery to see my new work! I am delivering a new set of fun Corn paintings this Saturday along with some large florals (see "Starlight, Starbright" above).

 In Cedar Rapids, Wiederspan Gallery continues to represent my Daubism paintings, and now CornerHouse Gallery  is representing my traditional smooth work, Corn Series, and Abstracts.  Check it out!

CornerHouse Gallery
2753 First Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402
319 365-4348

Please join me At Wiederspan Gallery : Spring 2011 Metro Gallery Tour

by Dena Tollefson
http:///www.denatollefson.com

Please join me at Wiederspan Gallery Thursday, April 7th from 6:30-8PM for the Spring 2011 Metro Gallery Tour. "Tulip Love" pictured below, is one of 5 new paintings at Stan's gallery. "Tulip Love" is oil on canvas using my Daubism technique. It is framed with a silver leaf wood frame, inspired by large Dordogne tulips blooming in my front yard this past May.

I hope to see you there!!

"Tulip Love" 30"x40" Oil on Canvas copyright 2010 Dena Tollefson

Dali Museum is fantastic

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com


The newly renovated Dali Museum in Saint Petersburg, Florida is fantastic! I went there last week with my parents, Dietrich and Helen Schaefer.

The museum houses 96 of Salvador Dali's original oil paintings, collected by the Morse family.
I enjoyed seeing how Dali's work changed over his lifetime, especially neat to see his early work in tight realism, Cubism, Impressionism and Dadaism, and how it all culminated into his mature work with Surrealism. He was very interested in science and Christianity- which showed up especially in his later work. His wife, Gala, appeared on many of his canvases. 

Some of my favorite paintings in the exhibit were The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Daddy Longlegs of the Evening--Hope!, and Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man all of which include his signature plastic amorphic shapes. His use of color, masterful edges, "hidden" detail and imagination were so breathtaking.

We took an audio tour- it was very engaging. I think for me what was so neat about this particular museum was how Dali's paintings, the museum atmosphere, architecture, and even the interactive gardens created a total enveloping experience.

The Dali Art Museum building itself is a masterpiece in sculpure- the architect Yann Weymouth was so inspired by Dali's use of morphing forms- which inspired the Enigma- the cloudlike shape composed of triangular glass pushing out of the building's edge contrasting with the building's angular lines. I learned that the thousands of huge panes of glass in the Enigma are each unique in size and had to be barcoded to keep track of them during construction.

The grounds and garden were peppered with rocks imported from Dali's hometown in Spain- one can see those same rock types in so many of his paintings. It is neat to see the painting and real rocks all together in one setting.

Check it out!!

Price Increase 2011- Thanks for Another Successful Year!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Thank You!!

I am excited to announce a price increase effective March 1, 2011. All sizes of all my paintings (commission or standard work), regardless of location will be 40% higher than current prices.  This is in response to another successful year... Thirty four (34) paintings sold in 2010, which is a personal record. Thank you so much for your support!

Please note this price increase will be effective March 1st, 2011 for original paintings only, no change to signed greeting cards.

I really appreciate your support!!! Thank you so much for another successful year!!

Dena