St Germain Colorama September 19, 2020

 Tom Belau Paintings will be at Colorama in St. Germain Wisconsin on Saturday, September 19, 2020.  I will be in booth "N" from 9AM to 4PM.  

This is my first show in almost a decade.  I look forward to seeing you there!!!!

This is my first "serious" still life.  It's an 11 x 17" alkyd on stretched canvas.  I think I'll call it "Bobbers".

Bobbers 2020

I'm Back!!!

Ok, I took about 7 years off from painting.  There was no good reason for the break other than I just got tired of painting for some unknown reason.  However, last year as I was riding my bike I came across a local artist who was painting a plein air on the bike trail.  I stopped to chat and found myself wanting to start painting again.  Sooooooooo...  since Fall of 2019 and March of 2020, I completed the three painting below:

                                            July Sunset Big St. Germain

                                            Rustic Road Boulder Junction

                                            Big Muskellunge Campground Landing


I plan on doing a limited number of Art Fairs this summer and will publish the schedule when all dates are confirmed.

Bergstrom-Mahler Arts Festival July 21, 2013

After taking all of 2012 off from painting and art shows (busy schedule and surgery) I will be displaying my original oil paintings at the Bergstrom-Mahler Arts Festival on Sunday, July 21, 2013.  The event takes place in Riverside Park in Neenah, Wisconsin (USA) from 10AM to 4PM.  If you are anywhere near the area please drop in! 

Neenah in July

Neenah in July (24 x 36")

February 2012

This is my latest painting.  I've been working on it for the past 8 months.  It's based on a view of Neenah Wisconsin.  Done with alkyds to allow glazing decreased drying time for adding layers.  I've been focusing on photorealism lately so the paintings take much longer, but I'm more pleased with the results.

Richeson 75 Landscape, Seascape and Architecture 2012 Exibition

I am extremely pleased and excited to tell you that my two submissions for the Richeson 75 Landscape, Seascape & Architecture 2012 Exhibition were accepted. Neenah Light Spring Morning won the Meritorious Award and C&NW Circa 1960 won as a FINALIST! Both paintings will be featured in the full-color hard bound catalogue. C&NW Circa 1960s will be displayed in the Richeson Galley from April 16 through June 8, 2012 and will be available for sale.

C&NW circa 1960s

I just completed this one.  It's a study in color, chroma and value done completely in alkyds (other than the oil ground).  I tried to capture the look and feel of an old "Kodachrome" slide from the 1960s.  I enjoyed this one and hope to paint more trains.

Neenah Light Spring Morning

Here is my latest completed painting.  It's another painting of the Lighthouse in Neenah, Wisconsin.  I took a photograph of the lighthouse during a spring morning in 2010.  This painting is based on that photograph.  I actually documented the progress of this painting from a blank canvas with a tinted ground to the finished painting.  Please refer to the tab "Painting Progress-Neenah Light Spring Morning" to see the progressive history of this painting.  I spent a considerable amount of time with this painting to capture the lighting and value of the objects.  It was painted entirely with alkyds and I used glazing in several areas to capture some vibrancy (especially in the grass).

Neenah Light Spring Morning  (2011)

Bouguereau "Little Brother"

In March 2011 I spent about a week in the Missouri Ozarks studying under Portrait Artist Karen Murphy.  I wanted to learn how to capture the look and feel of some of the "Masters" works as well as learning portraits and fabric.  This is obviously not an original painting but an opportunity for me to expand my approach and painting skills.  The Bouguereau painting provided not only one, but two faces to deal with along with the deep shadows, muted tones and fabric folds!   Here is the unfinished painting.  I will be completing it in the future and will post the finished painting.  (Kudos to Karen Murphy and the staff at Dorothy Dent's Studio!)

Study of Bouguereau's "Little Brother" (Work in Progress)

Foamy Shores Revised

After looking at Foamy Shores and the low hanging cloud, I couldn't stand it anymore and got out the sandpaper.  I sanded off the big clouds that looked like a giant cotton balls hovering over the ocean and repainted the sky with more subtle clouds higher in the sky to provide a better perspective.  This exercise also helped to confirm that pigment hues really do vary depending on the manufacturer!!

Foamy Shores BEFORE

Foamy Shores AFTER

I'm much happier with the AFTER version.  The clouds in the first edition were actually done practicing a new technique-Needless to say that technique didn't work for me.....

Waves and a Plane

Here is a seascape painting that I recently finished.  For now I call it "Waves and a Plane" (Until I think of something better).  Once again I tried to capture the depth of the water near the shore with the shadows of the foam.  The plane was inspired by the beaches of Florida.

Waves and a Plane (2011)

Doty Park Late Afternoon in September

Doty Park Late Afternoon in September (18x24) 2011

This is my second painting of Doty Park in Neenah, Wisconsin.  There are actually two stone foot bridges.  Each of my paintings features a different bridge.  I took a photograph last Setptember in the late afternoon.  There were alot of shadows and shade, but the sun reflected brightly on the bridge.  I used several new techniques with this painting also that seemed to capture the look and "feel" I was trying for.

Bonfire

Bonfire (18 x 24) 2011

Bonfire used some of the same flame techniques as the painting "Campfire".  However, with this one I used some glazing on the orange/red flames to give them some sparkle and depth.  I wanted to get the feel of dark woods contrasted by bright flames.

Campfire

Campfire (11 x 14) 2011

Campfire above actually started out as a small study for the "Bonfire" painting.  I had never painted flames and wanted to practice.  The paint has been thinned with OMS and blended well.  The background has no detail, but like the flames has been blended by using a brush with OMS.

First Paintings for 2011

I've been working on several paintings since last year. I thought I would try to do 2-4 paintings at a time instead of focusing on just one. So over the past 5-6 months I've started and completed the paintings that will be included in individual entries  In fact, I'm actually in the stages of three more paintings right now.  So in the next few months, expect to see more. 

The newest paintings are shown above (as I don't know how to change the order of posts!!).

Wisconsin Culture

Wisconsin Culture (Still Life)

I completed my first still life. I was trying to capture the look and feel (shadows and light) of the 17th century Dutch old masters. Only, I wanted it to be a modern whimsical subject.
I began with a black canvas. This photo shows a bit of glare because the medium is not dry yet.

Spanish Moss and Blossoms

I recently completed the painting "Spanish Moss and Blossoms". It's technically not a completely original painting as I borrowed the basic concept from a print. My brother bought the old framed print at a rummage sale in Florida because he liked the frame. The print was in pretty bad shape-faded and perhaps some water damage. I decided to do a painting with the basic layout of the print but modified enough to be different from the original. I've called it "Spanish Moss and Blossoms". I used an acylic underpainting for values and a unique color feel:

Foamy Shore

Today I finished a seascape that I've been working on for some time. I spend a good deal of time working on the details of grains of sand and the ocean floor in the first few inches of waters. I also tried some different styles on the clouds. Still thinking about the title. Any suggestions? Update on October 1, 2010- I am calling this painting "Foamy Shore".

Stonehenge in Spring Updated

Stonehenge in Spring BEFORE

Stonehenge in Spring AFTER

Last June I was displaying my paintings at an Art Fair in Waupaca, Wisconsin. The painting "Stonehenge in Spring" was facing me all day. I'm alway critical of my own work, but staring at this painting all day was making me sick. So much was missing as far as light, shadow and perspective. A couple of weeks later I took the painting out of the frame and painted over it to include more shadows, light and perspective. Now, I can actually look at it without feeling sick. Comments, anyone?

Paddling Through Doty Park

So I've been experimenting with technique and colors-this is the result. It's from the perspective of paddling a canoe through the little canal in Doty Park in Neenah, WI. I played with the colors in my palette-no big changes, just "different". The trees are kind of mix of impressionist and realistic. It should be dry in time for the Bergstrom-Mahler Art Fair on July 18-two weeks from today!