River Point

Tom Maakestad works with oil paint, oil pastel and dry pastel using regional landscapes as his main focal point. In the early morning or late afternoon, he looks for vast expanses or the complexities formed by merging land masses with light and shadow. Maakestad's color pallet is frequently limited to what I’m viewing at that time of year.

Midwestern subject matter makes up the bulk of Tom's work. The area around his parent’s farm in south central Minnesota has elements that he appreciates about this part of the country: long views from open ridge lines remind him of bus rides from his youth when valley bottoms were shrouded in fog, or sunsets that heighten the landforms and tree rows. All of these factors combine to create intriguing material from which Maakestad uses to start pictures.

Quote from the artist: "This morning I planned on getting out to watch the moon set at around 4:30 am. At the same time as the moon was setting, the sun began to creep up and cast light across the landscape. These two types of light create a mixture of light from the background and direct light creating shadows. Snows are blue in low light and fallow grasses turn rosy in the light."

Dimensions: 31.5" x 41.5"