(instrumental changes) - Inspiration comes from any direction at any time of the day or middle of the night.

The starting point for my inspiration visually is is almost always God's created order.

As, as we walk amongst it, we sit under a tree we canoe on a lake, we walk along a stream just a small portion of what really grabs my attention.

- I'm an old school representational type painter the old masters kind of approach.

That's what I studied and what I appreciated and that's what I do still with some quirky adaptations.

Well, my history in art kind of goes way back to just post-high school.

Graduated in 1970 in Granite Falls and had a strong interest in art.

But after a couple of years of Iowa College I enrolled in Bemidji State art department planning on going after a degree in fine art.

Couple of classes, one that was pretty much a waste of time was already at that level.

And another one, which I gained a tremendous amount of value in, which was composition.

Got home in '73, was married the fall of '73, and thought, well I'll hang out my artistic shingle and make a living.

I was that naive.

And that ended really quickly, like after I was done with my first commissioned oil painting and I figured I'd better get serious with supporting a wife and whatever family comes.

So I put aside my easel and my paints and brushes and spent the next number of years doing odd jobs around the community and area, which led to a strawberry farm on the property where I live now.

One thing led to another there and woodworking came into the picture, which was the next 20 years of my life doing commercial woodworking in the corporate recognition realm, plaques, desk accessories and the like.

So after 20 years of running a business I talked to my wife, said, well, what do I do now?

At this stage in life, at seventy years of age I'm a little freer to do what I want, not what I have to do.

So I'm back in the art world and seeing what I can do with it as a Senior citizen.

Many of the pieces that I get the strongest reaction to are some of my oddest paintings, because they've I've poured myself into them.

They're not just, well, I need another mountain painting or I need another chicken painting.

It's ones that just, I had a spark of inspiration and what can I do with that and turn that into a viable painting?

And that's what really fires me up.

And so I put myself into it and if I'm happy with it, I show it.

And, and those are the ones that people I think recognize the level of intense effort that has gone into it, that shows in the final product.

I like new challenges, much of the satisfaction.

In fact, nearly all of it, frankly, is in the journey of getting from a rough idea into a finished piece that works and people respond well to.

So I do all of my own framing which gives me more creative freedom.

It also saves a buck here and there and gives me an opportunity to do some unusual things which occasionally works.

The problem with art and my surviving as a human being much less providing for a wife and a large family.

As everyone, no doubt knows, art or fine art or craft is not a road to financial security for very many people.

And so we're always looking for opportunities to advance our economic reality, pay our bills, and and then to expose more people to our work.

So a number of, I've lost track, was it 16 years ago now?

Roughly.

A bunch of us local artists craftspeople got together and out of that grew the upper Minnesota River Valley art crawl the meander, as we call it and have been in it for most of its years.

I have so many unfinished projects, painting and sculpture wise that beg finishing.

That's the downside of having a creative mind, is that you always want to chase the next project.

I wanted to sculpt my wife, whom I have tremendous admiration for.

So there needs to be a sculpture of her.

It's 10 years ago now that I'm still wanting to finish.

I show it every year at the meander and people comment and my, my wife is here and say, yeah, looks like you but I'm, it's, it begs to be finished.

So even for this interview, I've pulled it out and I'll do some work on it.

So we grew up without a lot of money and the need to be ingenious and find solutions for whatever challenge came along in life.

I don't want to use the word self-made because no one is self-made.

We all learn from somebody.

But I have very little formal training in anything I've done.

Just a ton of confidence and some God-given aptitude.

And so I've applied that to a wide variety of things in life.

Art for me in my adult life since I left college has been up and down in and out based upon economic realities.

All the while pressing against my forehead from the inside wanting to get out.

It's hard for me to shut my mind down.

My creative mind is, is constantly going.

(wondrous music) (singer vocalizing) (inspiring music) - [Announcer] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Windom, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

The Lake Region Arts Council's Arts Calendar, an arts and cultural heritage-funded digital calendar showcasing upcoming art events and opportunities for artists in West Central Minnesota.

On the web at lrac4calendar.org.

Playing today's new music plus your favorite hits, 96.7 KRAM.

Online at 967kram.com.

(calm music)