Gatzke resident exhibits her grain elevator paintings

The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council (NWMAC) is excited to exhibit Midwest Grain, a collection of watercolor paintings by Debbie Aune, which feature familiar landmarks to all of us living in northwest Minnesota: grain elevators. A longtime artist of Gatzke, Minnesota, Debbie grew up on a small farm in northern Minnesota, and recalls her early fascination with these historical structures.

“As a small child a trip in the old, crusty, dirty truck to the local elevator was quite the trip. In my early teens I would most likely be found in the dusty combine riding with Mom, and then at age seventeen–it was my job to turn all the fields upside down in preparation for the next year. Dirt was fun!”

 Debbie’s art, primarily watercolor paintings, often depicts scenes of daily life in our communities–and our region’s history. “With no surprise, farming, farming equipment and storage buildings have again made their way into my latest watercolor exhibit, Midwest Grain. Elevators, tracks and trains swarm with history, stories and memories good and bad. Every town big or small has (or had) a grain elevator. Good thing I like the color gray!”

Debbie’s exhibition is now open through March 31, 2018, at the NWMAC Gallery in East Grand Forks. People could swing in and meet her last Saturday, February 24th, when Debbie was at the gallery discussing her works during the Art & Wine Walk.

“My hope in painting these grain elevators of Northwest Minnesota, besides the obvious farming flashbacks and sense of nostalgia, is to show the charm and curious attraction of these big gray monuments. Their form, the perspective, the subtle changes of gray, their rust, the interlacing spouting and conveyors–it’s all a kick to paint! I have a connection with this dirt we call earth and the galvanized steel, iron and wood that rises from it. Paris, Melbourne and Rome will have to wait. ”

To view Debbie’s art, visit the NWMAC Gallery at 211 DeMers Avenue in East Grand Forks (located within the Riverwalk Artists Gallery) now through March 31, 2018. The gallery is open Thursday–Saturday, 2:00–8:00pm and Sunday, 2:00–5:00pm. All of Debbie’s art featured at the gallery is for sale and can be purchased by contacting the artist at (218) 689-2363. For more information about Debbi’s exhibit, or if you are an artist interested in exhibiting a body of work with NWMAC, please contact Kat Allen at (701) 360-0805 or email NWArtsCouncil@gmail.com.

 

Shown in this issue are paintings of elevators in Gully, Thief River Falls, Newfolden, Warren and Middle River. Debbie’s collection includes elevators also in Bagley, Bemidji, Brooks, East Grand Forks, Fosston, Greenbush, Oslo, Plummer and Roseau.