We Bought a House and Moved out of the 4th Avenue Market Place Studio!

Moving everything from the studio to the new house, including large paintings. Good thing it wasn’t raining!

When we moved into my studio space at the 4th Avenue Marketplace, we were ecstatic to be downtown, and to have extra work space!  I loved the view, and I loved working there.  Having people come by for open studio events during First Fridays, Fur Rondy, and the Iditarod was always a great experience, and we usually made enough money during those events to cover our lease payments. Making the move to 4th Ave really cemented that I am a professional artist.  However, I missed working at home. Packing a lunch was a drag, the bicycle commute across downtown was annoying (especially in winter), and the local street people seemed to always be present to greet me at the door to the building (when they were awake).  I always seemed to have left this tool here, or that tool there, right when I needed it, and I was making another traffic-heavy bike trip back to one of the two locations.    

I am happy to say that last weekend we moved out of the studio, and I am setting up my new studio on the first floor of our new house! It is a huge mess right now! I need permanent storage for tools, supplies, and paintings. I hope to be back to work by Monday, taking a week to move the condo and studio to our new house, and to get the condo ready for sale!  The house is “not perfect,” as my father told me, but to us it is so amazing!  It is quiet at night, there is more space for living and for the studio, and best of all, it has an oversized two car garage!  No more carrying the table saw down stairs to work in blizzards for me!  I can park my truck inside when it is cold out! Not to mention, the obvious home-brewing improvement!  I brought my big smoker grill home from my parents’ house, and I’m going to smoke a brisket when I have everything set up. When brew day rolls around in the new garage, I’ll brew a big batch for a big housewarming celebration.  

Until then there is a lot of work… Anybody want a cute little apartment-style condo in West Fairview? It would make a great Airbnb rental!

Cheers to making life better!  May your day be brighter today than yesterday, and tomorrow be even better than that!    

Sad the downtown studio is closed?  You can still meet me for a beer at Midnight Sun Brewing. My art is there until the end of June!  I will be having more out-of-the studio shows, so keep following Real Art Is Better on this blog, or on social media and we will keep you informed where and when we will be having in-person events!

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Virtual Art Show at Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

I have yet another pandemic art show in full swing! I’m the featured artist at the Loft at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. for the month of January! Indoor seating capacity is limited to 25% until who-knows-when, so I’ve created a virtual art show for those of you who don’t feel comfortable going to the venue in person right now. If you’re interested in any of these pieces, give the Loft a call at (907) 344-6653. Even if you live outside of Anchorage, you can still nab a piece, and I will personally mail it to you within the U.S. at no charge. All of these are one-of-a-kind, original oil paintings. They are all framed in natural wood frames, except Winter and Autumn, which have dark brown frames. More paintings and prints are available at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter.

Octo-Schuss, 16″ x 20″, oil on panel, $650

Battle of Denali, 20″x16″, oil on panel, $650

Grogu, 7″ x 5″, oil on panel, $85

Let’s Rondy!, 24″ x 12″, oil on panel, $450

Chugach Session, 9″ x 18″, oil on panel, $290

Cherry Funk, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Solstice in McCarthy, 14″x11″, oil on panel, $245

Solid Gold, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Flightseeing in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, 14″ x 11″, oil on panel, $245

Bar Fly, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

The Tree of Life, 16″x20″, oil on panel, $850

Abominable Winter Ale, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Future Champions, 20″x16″, oil on panel, $550

Moscow, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Earning Your Pint, 24″x12″, oil on panel, $450

Maudite, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Polar Biker, 14″x11″, oil on panel, $245

Rondy Brew, 14″ x 11″, oil on panel, $245

Duchesse De Bourgogne, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Whale Dance, 36″x18″, oil on panel, $875

San Tan Brewing, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

MSBC Growler, 8″ x 10″, oil on panel, $180

Autumn, 36″ x 18″, oil on panel, $875

Winter, 36″ x 18″, oil on panel, $875

Sleeping Lady Brewing, 48″ x 24″, oil on panel, $1,200

MSBC Chillin, 12″x24″, oil on panel, $395

Pabst, 6″x12″, oil on panel, $120

Leyland Tractor, 20″x16″, oil on canvas, $925

Bitte ein Bit, 14″x11″, oil on panel, $245

Paintings Commissioned for Holiday Gifts

Each holiday season I receive many requests for commissions that need to be done and delivered in time for Christmas. One of my favorite parts about working on these custom pieces is hearing people’s stories behind the painting concepts. Usually they send me a photo of a special beer they enjoyed with a best friend, or loved one, along with another photo of a place that is significant to both people, and then I combine the photos into one composition. Each detail has a meaning, and I am always glad to be part of creating a one-of-a-kind piece for a person who is caring enough to order a custom painting for a friend, spouse, or significant other. So, each year I publish a blog post to show you all the commissioned paintings I completed during the holiday season. Signed prints are available of Bourbon Paradise, and A Deal with the Devil paintings at my Etsy shop.

Can you think of anything unique, and significant to you that you’d like me to paint?

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Time to Start Thinking about Commissions for the Holidays

Today is already the middle October!  I’m so sad that I haven’t been able to have open studio gatherings to see you all.  We’re going to figure something out for the December party we normally have.  Since, I think we can only have about 5-7 people in the studio safely at once, we may schedule visits if you want to come in to sample a little homemade brew and shop for holiday gifts.  I will announce that possibility as we get a bit closer, and depending on the status of C-19 cases as winter weather sets in.  We haven’t even gotten through Halloween yet, so I assume most of you aren’t in the right mindset for that as of yet. 

What I do want to talk about right now is COMMISSIONED artwork.  I have had a nearly perfect record with successful commissions.  I just finished a piece for a local fire fighter who works just down the street from my studio.  He wanted a painting to commemorate a trip with his girlfriend to Orca Island in Resurrection Bay.  The painting was supposed to be a surprise, but he told his girlfriend about it when she was having a bad day, and she cried!  The only problem with commissioning a painting for a holiday gift is I run out of time to get them all painted, so getting in early is better.  In 2016 I completed 24 individual paintings that my patrons commissioned for holiday gifts.  I felt like an elf that year, and my beard started to twinkle with a bit of varnish by December 15, the last day possible for paintings to dry in time for the 25th.  I suggest you look through the pictures of your favorite trip this year, or last year (considering a lot of us have been hunkering down and not going anywhere since March).  It always brings a smile to see people so excited to give the gift of a special painting!  Cheers, and I look forward to seeing what you bring for me to paint! 

Who’s Your Favorite Musher?

Our studio is inside the 4th Avenue Market Place, which is right on 4th Avenue, about a block from the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.  So, since 2016 we’ve been transforming the studio from work mode to pop-up gallery mode, and opening it to the public when everyone is on 4th Avenue to watch the race.  Each year I paint a new dog-mushing oil painting, and it usually sells on the day of the race.  A lot of people who come through the studio that day are tourists who came to Alaska just to see the Iditarod.  This year I painted this piece of Martin Buser, and then featured it in an e-news to my subscribers, and it sold before the open studio event!

Martin Buser. 24″ x 12″, oil on panel.

So Maria took a photo of the painting, and printed prints of it to sell during the Iditarod start at our studio.  But she also displayed the original, with a “Sold” sticker on it, and she had the brilliant idea to write on the sticker that I accept commissions, and could paint a custom Iditarod painting similar to this one with “your favorite musher.”  Well, several people took her up on that offer, and suddenly, I found myself painting dog teams for the next three weeks!  We were supposed to go to Washington, Hawaii, and Australia, but those trips were cancelled due to COVID-19 hysteria, so I ended up having plenty of time to work on these paintings.  I just finished them last week.  Who’s your favorite musher?

Aliy Zirkle. 36″ x 18″, oil on panel.

Lance Mackey. 24″ x 12″, oil on panel.

Lance Mackey. 24″ x 12″, oil on panel.

Fur Rondy and Iditarod Open Studio Events – A Tradition at Real Art Is Better

We’ve had our studio inside the 4th Avenue Market Place for almost five years now, and each year during the Fur Rondy winter festival, and the Iditarod race start we’ve been turning the studio into a pop-up gallery, and opening our doors to the public.  The studio has large windows facing north, with a great view of the carnival.  Yesterday the carnival rides showed up in the parking lot across the street, which means the festivities are right around the corner!

Carnival rides getting set up in a snow storm.

The timing of the winter festival is perfect.  By late February, most Alaskans are fed up with winter, and start experiencing cabin fever.  The best cure is to head downtown to watch sled dog races, outhouse races, check out snow sculptures, ride a couple carnival rides, and maybe even participate in the blanket toss.  There are so many activities starting Feb. 28.  Here’s a link to the entire schedule.

The Real Art Is Better studio will be open both weekends.  Stop by to warm up, enjoy freshly-baked cookies, and check out the view.  We’re inside the 4th Avenue Market Place in Suite 4, which is in the NW corner if you walk in from 4th Avenue.  333 W 4th Avenue.

Open Studio Hours:

Saturday, February 29, 11am – 5pm

Sunday, March 1, 11am – 3pm

Saturday, March 7, 10am – 6pm

How to Transport and Install a 12ft x 6ft Oil Painting from Anchorage to Bethel

If you have stopped by our studio in the last three months you saw the enormous oil painting filling my work space, or stashed in the hall in order to make room for people during open studio events.  The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation built a new clinic in Bethel, and released a call for art in early 2019.  We applied for several wall spaces, and were awarded a contract to create a 12ft x 6ft oil painting on canvas for a large area high on the wall above a stairway.  This is the largest canvas I have ever painted!  Last week I delivered, assembled and helped install this piece at its location in Bethel. 

So, how do you take such a large painting on a jet-plane?  I designed the canvas from the start so that transporting it on an Alaska Airlines flight would be possible.  However, we all know that while some things seem easy conceptually, they can gain complexity as they progress.  The stretcher support was made up of 45 individual ash and birchwood pieces, and no piece was longer than 6ft, because I wanted them all to fit into a ski bag.  The canvas was rolled up and the stretcher support dis-assembled for its journey.  I waited until the day before departure to break it down, and pack it up. 

I awoke at 3:30 AM to catch a 6AM flight to Bethel.  I brought two checked ski bags, and a carry-on backpack.  No extra luggage fees for me with Club 49 thanks to Alaska Airlines!  I could have brought another checked bag, since it was an in-state flight!  Alaska Air and TSA were gentle enough with my precious cargo, and everything arrived in good shape and on-time.  I was picked up by the YKHC maintenance foreman, Pat, at the airport.  He and his team have been installing all the newly-acquired art pieces at the clinic.  I got to see some of the art while I was there, and I must say that the committee chose some incredible art!  We drove to the maintenance building and picked up two more staffers to help lift the painting onto the wall.  Re-assembly took me a couple of hours and I had a conference room to myself.  The extra help was great, and I don’t think I could have stretched it back to its original tightness without the extra muscle.  

The maintenance crew was clutch, as I had planned to hang this colossal piece the same way I hang smaller pieces — on a heavy-duty wire.  There is only an inch of clearance on either side of this piece so getting it straight on the wall was the real problem.  Pat suggested I use a French cleat, and I agreed that would be better, if only I had thought to bring one.  Pat was a superhero and produced the hardware from his storeroom!  This made hanging the piece much easier.  Four guys and two ladders later the 90lb painting slid into place.  This took us right up to lunchtime, and I was a little disappointed I had taken the early flight, as now I had 8 hours to kill until I could catch the return flight to Anchorage.  Pat had to check on his dog, and I had packed a lunch, so I chilled out at the hospital for an hour and breathed a sigh of relief.  

After lunch Pat took me on an amazing driving tour of Bethel and the Kuskokwim River.  I got to go to the grocery store to replenish my snacks for the return trip to Anchorage.  Pretty expensive to buy food and gas in Bethel.  $4.49 a gallon for gasoline, and $8.49 a gallon for milk! The area is beautiful tundra with mountains glistening in the distance.  I got so see a pretty nice chunk of the town, which is much larger than I had expected — about 10,000 residents.  The area around Bethel is very interesting, but the people are where the real beauty exists, everyone is so friendly and helpful.  Bethel is a hub, but it felt like a really welcoming village. 

I was dropped off at the airport with my drop cloths in my ski-bag, and I was feeling really fatigued by this time.  I hunkered down at the airport and worked on my beer coloring book pages for a couple of hours before catching my flight home at 10PM.  I met a fellow who was so happy to pick up his crate from Alaska Airlines.  He said he had snow-machined for two hours from his camp to pick it up!  This was right at twilight, so it was going to be a dark return trip for him.  Adventurous people live in the Delta and I was happy to get a glimpse of this culture.  Thank you YKHC for this superb opportunity!  Maybe next time I can come in the summer and do a little fishing.  

Here is a slideshow of some pictures I took during this whole process.  Below you’ll also find three timelapse videos of my painting, and the last one is of us taking apart the painting and rolling up the canvas.

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Paintings Commissioned for Holiday Gifts 2019

Each year several thoughtful gift-givers commission me to paint custom oil paintings for holiday gifts, and so far I’ve always finished them all on schedule to be delivered several days before December 25th.  This year most of the paintings were dog portraits, and sadly two of those were of loved pups that had recently gone to doggy heaven.  No one ordered a cat painting.  Hmmmm.  One person really liked one of my existing float plane paintings, but wanted a smaller version, so I painted one for him.  I’m always impressed with the concepts that my patrons develop for these pieces, and my favorite part is finding out the stories behind each one.  I hope all the recipients liked their gifts.  I did receive a couple photos of smiling people holding their custom Clendaniel originals.

Click on each one to see it in more detail.  All paintings are framed in a natural wood frame, with hanging hardware installed.  The turnaround time is 2-3 weeks.  You can order a custom oil painting at my Etsy shop RealArtIsBetter, or by contacting me at info [at] realartisbetter [dot] com.

Epic Day! 14″ x 11″, oil on panel.

Alaskan winter cabin scene. 14″ x 11″, oil on panel.

RIP little buddy! 8″ x 10″, oil on panel.

Sally dog on the rafting trip. 8″ x 10″, oil on panel.

Smaller version of Catch & Release. 24″ x 12″, oil on panel.

Spotted Cow billboard. 16″ x 16″, oil on panel.

Packers game on the porch. 16″ x 16″, oil on panel.

Don’t Hang Your Beer Paintings in the Bathroom!

We often hear of masterpieces getting stolen from museums, but how often have you heard about a painting getting stolen from a brewery’s bathroom?  Well, in Anchorage, it happened twice, and both times the paintings were Clendaniel originals!  I’m flattered just a little, but mostly very disappointed with these people’s choices, or maybe just one person’s.

When I was doing the Year of Beer project, Gabe Fletcher, the owner of Anchorage Brewing Co., purchased a few beer paintings, and when he built his new brewery, he hung a painting in each bathroom.  Then one day, the painting from the men’s room was gone!  It was of Calabaza Boreal, a collaboration brew by Anchorage Brewing and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales.  It was a hard piece to make, because it had two different incarnations and I depicted both bottles in the painting.  Gabe put out a plea for the thief to hang the art back on the wall, and no questions would be asked.  The painting hasn’t been seen since.  Gabe bought another painting from me of the Experiment, to replace that one, but he didn’t hang it in the bathroom.

Fast forward a couple years, and the thief strikes again!  Maybe it was a different person.  We don’t know.  This time the scene of the crime was the bathroom at Odd Man Rush Brewing Co. in Eagle River.  Last year I painted a piece live in the taproom, and one of the owners purchased it, and hung it in one of the unisex bathrooms.  Several months later, the painting mysteriously disappeared.  Ironically, the beer painting was of the Enforcer IPA.

So the lesson is, don’t hang your 8″x10″ Clendaniel beer art in public bathrooms at your drinking establishment!  I don’t have a problem with the location, I like having my artwork displayed basically anywhere, as long as it is visible to people.  The problem I have with public restrooms is that people seem to believe the artwork on the walls is a free gift.

After hearing that the piece was yanked, I contacted the owners of Odd Man Rush, and set up a date to paint a new one at the brewery.  I completed this painting last Sunday of Enforcer IPA, while sipping on a couple delicious brews, including the NEIPA, and when I was done painting the glass and the beer, I got to drink the Enforcer while painting the background.

The new painting to replace the one that was stolen.

If you see either one of those stolen paintings, please grab it back for the rightful owners.  If you would like to return the stolen pieces, because you made a bad decision while you were a little tipsy, just put them back in the bathrooms, no questions asked.

Cheers to honesty!  Please don’t steal art, just contact me, and I’ll paint your favorite beer… no questions asked.

Real Art Is Better in Person

Since I don’t have gallery representation, I don’t get to show people my art in person as much as I would like.  Throughout the year, people can see my art by making an appointment to visit my studio, or attending an open-studio event and art shows at local venues.  Sure, I post photos of my paintings online all the time, but that doesn’t do justice to the colors and texture.  Seeing art in “real life” is a completely different experience.  That’s why I’m so glad to be participating in, and hosting several events this month where you can see my work.  I’m looking forward to seeing you at any, or all of these (if you’re on Facebook, you can see the Facebook events by clicking on the images).

1. Winter Market at Anchorage Brewing Co. November 30th and December 21st, 2-8pm.  Great beer, and pizza baked in a wood-fired oven!

 

2. The Holiday Studio Sale at the Real Art Is Better studio!  We clean up our studio, and turn it into a pop-up gallery for First Fridays a few times a year, but this one is not to be missed, because it’s more like our holiday party.  December 6th, 5-8pm.  333 W 4th Ave, Suite 4.  

 

3. I will be the featured artist at Turnagain Brewing Company in December, so you can see my art there all month long.  I’ll have a meet and greet event there on Saturday, December 7th, 5-7pm.  My art will be available for sale directly from the brewery.

 

4. I will be joining many talented local artists and crafters at the annual Makers Market at the Atwood Center.  December 14 & 15, 11am – 4pm.  That will be a great place to do all your holiday shopping!

The holidays are always a busy time of year, but I’m grateful for each and every one of you who has supported my art career!

Cheers!