Years ago, at a significant moment in our lives, my grandfather told me to "take big steps...walk easy."  

My wife surprised me with some very special gifts this year.  Our friends Brian and Pearl at Braidwood Pottery make the coolest stuff.  Check them out on Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BraidwoodPottery

bah humbug

"I'm just glad you're here...at the end." -Leia

Larry and I would like to thank the fine folks that came out and celebrated with us.  We had a great time telling stories and sharing our adventure with our wonderful friends.  And if you missed it...

you missed it.

May the force be with you.

An Entire Month Tonight

Thanks to all of my good friends and family that made the trip to Nashville last night.

If you like the idea of attending an art event that isn't really about the 100 paintings on the wall, while tearing a piece of beef jerky from your mouth with Cheetos dust-covered fingers, this is your ticket.  If nothing else, you'll probably laugh a little.

See you tonight.

"Go West"

Larry Rudolech and Wyatt LeGrand

December 16th, 5-9pm

Brown County Art Gallery,  Nashville,  Indiana

Sort of Kind of an Art Show

Destruction Bay

oil on canvas

11" x 14"

It's going to be a riot.  Get there early if you'd like to buy a painting or sample our fine smorgasbord of gas station cuisine.   

"Go West",  Two Man Show

December 15th & 16th, 5-9pm

Brown County Art Gallery,  Nashville,  Indiana

My good friend Larry Rudolech and I will be showing plein air work from a summer road trip to Alaska.  Subjects will include scenes from Alaska, a dozen national parks, and a variety of funky roadside attractions from the month long journey to the end of the road and back.  In addition, we'll have photos, stories, maps, and other fun artifacts from the adventure on display.  Road trip snacks will be served as hors-d'oeuvres.  It's going to be an outrageously good time.  Open both evenings from 5-9pm. 

Beef Jerky, Cheetos, Twizzlers, Pictures, and Profanity

Fish Out of Water

oil on canvas

16" x 20"

"Go West",  Two Man Show

December 15th & 16th, 5-9pm

Brown County Art Gallery,  Nashville,  Indiana

My good friend Larry Rudolech and I will be showing plein air work from a summer road trip to Alaska.  Subjects will include scenes from Alaska, a dozen national parks, and a variety of funky roadside attractions from the month long journey to the end of the road and back.  In addition, we'll have photos, stories, maps, and other fun artifacts from the adventure on display.  Gas station road trip snacks will be served as hors-d'oeuvres.  It's going to be an outrageously good time.  Open both evenings from 5-9pm. 

Thanks Bloomfield.  It was fun, I think.

See you tomorrow.  Noon-5pm

Party in Bloomfield

On and On

oil on canvas

12" x 24"

It's supposed to snow, you know?

The show is hung.  See you tomorrow night.

2 Days Only

Saturday 5 - 9pm,  Sunday noon -5pm

MainSource Bank Building, 87 E. Spring Street

Bloomfield,  Indiana

It's almost Friday and cold outside.  

The stars are shining and my hair is still growing.  

I hope you're happy.

Almost There

Another Sunday Morning

oil on canvas

20" x 24"

Sixty-five paintings are framed and ready for this weekend's show.  Looks like I'll be hanging the paintings in a very "salon-style".  I've picked out some favorites from the past year or two along with several "fresh off the easel".  You know what they say, "Come for the cheese, stay for the assortment of dips."  And if you buy a painting, I can store it in the vault until you're ready to take it home...that's pretty cool, right?  "quotation marks"

December 9th & 10th

Opening Reception, Dec. 9th, 5 - 9pm, Open Sunday noon -5pm

MainSource Bank Building, 87 E. Spring Street

Bloomfield,  Indiana

This Thursday

Share, Tweet, Post, Print, Bing, Bam, Boom!

LeGrand Tour

Lilies

oil on canvas

30" x 40"

That's right, I called it the LeGrand tour.  If you throw in the paintings that just returned from the "Fires" exhibit, my paintings hanging in West Baden Springs Resort, the Brown County Art Guild, Castle Gallery, and Richmond Art Museum, and the paintings on display at the exhibits mentioned below, this month has turned into one big picture painting adventure.  Two hundred ninety-four pictures are spread out in galleries across the state of Indiana.  That's a lot of framing and schlepping.  Hopefully, far fewer than 294 pictures come back home at the end of the month.  I'll be at the opening / closing receptions for the three shows below.  You won't see the same painting twice, so make a month out of it...put these dates in your Wizard, Palm Pilot, or Iphone and meet me there.  If you don't like paintings, there will be cheese and cocktail wieners...

"Recurrencies",  Solo Exhibition

Now - December 7th

Closing Reception, Dec. 7th, 4:30 -6:30pm

Moench Hall,  Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Terre Haute,  Indiana

"Bloomfield",  Solo Exhibition 

December 9th & 10th

Opening Reception, Dec. 9th, 5 - 9pm, Open Sunday noon -5pm

MainSource Bank Building, 87 E. Spring Street

Bloomfield,  Indiana

"Go West",  Two Man Show with Larry Rudolech

December 15th & 16th, 5 -9pm both days

Brown County Art Gallery,  Nashville,  Indiana

Seven Days Away

Hasler's

oil on canvas

24" x 36"

"Bloomfield",  Solo Exhibition

December 9th & 10th

MainSource Bank Building, 87 E. Spring Street

Bloomfield,  Indiana

Here's another show, just a week away.  This exhibit will feature a bunch of recent work, including many Bloomfield scenes.  Join in on the festivities during the opening reception…a party the whole town is invited to.  I'm no salesman, but if I was, I'd have a huge vinyl banner hung, wacky waving inflatable tube men installed on the sidewalk, and coffee mugs with "LeGrand Fine Art" printed up for the first fifty buyers.  I'm no salesman, but the paintings will be for sale.

Opening reception Saturday, December 9th, 5-9pm.  Open Sunday noon-5pm.  

A Week From Today

Now - December 7th

"Recurrencies",  Solo Exhibition

Moench Hall,  Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Terre Haute,  Indiana

I have forty paintings currently on display in Moench Hall on the Rose-Hulman campus.  The theme of the exhibit is "Recurrencies", subjects that have persisted in my painting for several years now.  There will be a closing reception for the show on Thursday, December 7th from 6-9pm.  See you there!

Teddy Bear Bomber

"Ted and Ed"

oil on canvas

11" x 14"

I painted this in Brookville a few weeks ago.  I thought it was going to be a really creepy scene...a storefront glowing with stuffed animals.  The finished painting ended up being pretty hilarious.  Ed is a trouble maker.  

Still Smokin'

Have paintings, will travel.

If you liked "Fires" and want to fan the flame, get in touch.  Many of the paintings will travel to another "Fires" exhibit at a different venue next year, but I'd love to thin the herd in the meantime.

wyattlegrand@gmail.com

"Contest"

oil on canvas

12" x 16"

Thanks to everyone who stopped by last night for the demo and closing reception.  While I'm pretty sure ninety percent of the people who came in were just there for hot chocolate, I'm certain a few others were there to use the bathroom.  

It's Small Business Saturday you know?  Heck, I think it's still Black Friday in some parts.  Get off the internet and go buy something for God's sake.

"Swell"

oil on canvas

30" x 40"

If you're in Bloomington tonight and looking for something to do, head downtown and join the thousands of people gathering around the courthouse square to see...

The "Canopy of Lights" ceremony!  They turn on the lights after dark...I hear it's colorful, energetic, vibrant, dynamic.

BLEVE

"Beginning"

oil on canvas

36" x 36"

Happy Thanksgiving.  Be careful deep-frying those turkeys.

Black Friday Doorcloser

"Birth"

oil on canvas

20" x 20"

On Friday, I'll be doing a painting demonstration at the closing reception for my exhibition at The Thomas Gallery.  The reception will be from 5-8pm and the demo will start around 5:30ish.  I'm looking forward to confidently responding to questions I don't know the answers to and painting a target for everyone's tomatoes.  If you're not too tired from all of your Black Fridaying, stop by and heckle me from the back.

While I don't have any doorbuster bargains to advertise, Friday is the last evening "Fires" will be open.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...this is probably my favorite show-to-date.  People who like my pictures of "things" have seemed mostly disappointed.  People who don't know me or my previous work have seemed mostly excited.  At the opening, I overheard a couple deeming the show a "hoax" moments after congratulating me on my best work yet...that should be all the incentive you need, if you're into this type of thing.  Hope to see you there. 

Thomas Gallery, 107 North College Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana

"Veranda"

oil on canvas

12" x 12"

"Lyre"

oil on canvas

12" x 16"

"Sconce"

oil on canvas

12" x 12"

"Axis"

oil on canvas

12" x 24"

"Fountain"

oil on canvas 

12" x 16"

"Library"

oil on canvas

20" x 30"

"Lounge"

oil on canvas

24" x 30"

Reflecting on Where the Light Is

"Illuminate"

oil on canvas

20" x 30"

So, I'll have ten paintings on display at West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden, Indiana for the next couple months.  The Brown County Art Guild organized the exhibit, which will feature all sorts of beautiful paintings from picture painters across Indiana.  

I needed a departure from what I had been painting, so my wife and I made a trip to West Baden in search of subject matter.  I hadn't originally planned on taking part in the show, but the opportunity to paint a subject I'd typically avoid was welcomed.  Truth is, I'm not good at "pretty" and that's all there is at this umpteenth eighth wonder.  I ended up picking out some of the less obvious facets of the hotel for my focus.  It was a fun three-evening-adventure at the easel...and so long as I'm painting fifty pictures to every one I sell, I'll keep on believing it should always be more about the fun than the fruit.  

Above all else, this short deviation allowed for an impromptu outing to one of the most fabulous buildings in the state, lots of working past 2 am on school nights, several more paintings that I'll probably die with, and a lot of reminiscing on time well spent at the very place I was painting.  My wife and I visited West Baden before the renovation was complete.  It was a windows-down day-date when we were both teenagers...I was a smaller version of myself and my wife was nearly as beautiful as she is today.  A few years later, I proposed to her at the same place...thank God she said yes.

I don't think I believe in luck, but I did get lucky once...even the losers, ya know?  I can chalk a lot of good fortune up to stubbornness and naivety, but Brittany is as close to a miracle as I'll ever be. 

Tomorrow Night!

"Breaking"

oil on canvas

22" x 28"

Hey, I'll be at the Thomas Gallery tomorrow night, Friday, November 17th.  Stop in, have a glass of wine, talk about art or television or tacos.  The show is open from 5-8pm.  See you there!

107 N. College Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana  

"Tom Tom's"

oil on canvas

36" x 36"

"Burning"

oil on canvas

24" x 24"

"Plein Air" Thanks You

I've changed my mind.  

I used to think plein air painting was much less about the artifact and much more about the experience.  I used to believe success as a plein air painter isn't found in pursuing a certain aesthetic or mastering a particular technique and never measurable by awards, workshops attended, or advertisements purchased.  With the popularity of plein air painting growing in conjunction with the prevalence of juried shows, monetary prizes, publications, and success stories, I used to hope many others would try find the spirit of plein air painting as an end into itself as I thought I had.  I used to tell people to go outside, record an experience, and enjoy the adventure.  And I used to believe that as soon as the purpose of plein air painting becomes anything other than capturing our world on canvas, it stops being plein air painting. 

I've grown up, I guess.  Plein air painting isn't about any of that anymore.  If we keep at it, we can make sure it was never about anything other than what's printed in Plein Air Magazine.  If you have a competitive spirit, a photogenic face, and a deep pocket book, you can be a plein air master.  That's great news for all of us!  So long as the walls of cultured homes need decoration and aspiring art-lovers need hobbies, the plein air movement has plenty of room for all of us on it's printed page.  

So, for all of my painting peers out there, let's stop painting as hobbyists!  Put your money where your mouth is!  If we enter enough shows, attend enough conventions, and pay for enough advertisements, we can make plein air painting the art movement it deserves to be.  With any luck, years after we're gone, they'll hang Plein Air Magazine articles on placards next to our boring landscape paintings in galleries celebrating a painting style that closely replicates what artists wore out hundreds of years before us.  Let's create a legacy for God's sake!  Put away the french boxes and hit the social media.  Take a break from making and focus more on "making it".  Buy a subscription and read about what you could be doing.

This article doesn't feature any of my recent awards or accolades, but I hope you can still enjoy it...it's costing me a lot. 

https://www.outdoorpainter.com/12000-miles-of-friendship-and-painting/

Thank You "Plein Air"

Plein Air Magazine printed an article about the trip Larry and I went on this summer.  It turned out pretty good...probably because they just "copy-pasted" everything Larry wrote.

If you didn't know this already, I'm not a big fan of Plein Air Magazine.  I'm sure Larry wouldn't mind me saying he felt the same.  It really doesn't matter, and take it for what it's worth, but I think a national publication that claims to be the starting and end point for all things related to painting pictures outdoors should focus on printing pictures of paintings created outdoors instead of photos glamorizing the magazine's top artist advertisers holding awards they won at juried plein air events sponsored by said magazine.  I know, I know..."But they're exposing all sorts of folks to the plein air movement (as if it's something new)."  I guess I just need some more convincing...maybe a few more features I can share with all of you?  Maybe one of those big game show checks and an invitation to teach at a "plein air convention"?  You can't blame an "artist" for trying to make a living, right?  Give me a chance to change my mind.

I guess I can take comfort in knowing the article is about going painting instead of winning awards and becoming a "successful artist" after buying ad space.

https://www.outdoorpainter.com/12000-miles-of-friendship-and-painting/

"Mice and Men"

oil on canvas

48" x 48"

Hey, stuff sucks sometimes...go paint a picture.

I also painted a bunch of littles in Brookville.  Stick me in a dimly lit parking lot after midnight and I can make all sorts of depressing pictures.  Speaking of depressing, any of you celebrate anniversaries?

"Height of Autumn"

oil on canvas

30" x 54"

Here's one from my Brookville trip a couple weeks ago.  It doesn't look like much as a reproduction, but I like the painting very much.  I didn't realize how large of a canvas it was until I secured it to my plein air easel...I could barely reach halfway up the surface before reworking my setup and taping a paintbrush to a long stick.  There's something invigorating about working this large out in the woods.  It's a physical challenge, but more so, it's a test of commitment.  Walk into the woods, stop in an arbitrary location, break out a canvas nearly as tall as you are, and paint whatever is on the other side of it in 90 minutes.  Knowing that you can successfully paint a huge picture of anything that's in front of you in any two hour period is freedom. 

Update

Just in case any of you really did mark your calendars, I have a slight adjustment for you.  Unfortunately, I have to push back the date of my 2-day Bloomfield show.  Good news is, I'm only pushing it back a week.  And...I snagged a sweet venue.  Here it is...

December 9th & 10th

"Bloomfield",  Solo Exhibition 

MainSource Bank Building, 87 E. Spring Street

Bloomfield, Indiana

This solo exhibit will feature a bunch of recent work, including many Bloomfield scenes.  Join the town of Bloomfield at the opening reception on Saturday, December 9th, 5-8pm.  I'm considering this a "best of" type show, so...you can bet your daddy's ball cap there will be some of my all-time favorites on display.  

"Spirit of Ioana"

oil on canvas

48" x 48"

"Signals"

oil on canvas

20" x 24"

Attaboy

Larry filled a gymnasium with paintings.  What a cool thing to see.  

Here's to Larry Rudolech...a living legend, a great friend, and...

a horrible speller.

Thank You Thank You Thank You

Thank you for coming out last night.  We had a lot of fun.  If you missed it, no worries..."Fires" will be open at the Thomas Gallery every Friday this month from 5-8pm.  And if you're planning your Bloomington Black Friday shenanigans already, plan to stop in and see the show again...I've got plans for a fun evening.  I'll keep you posted. 

Nailed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LNiJK3rK9s

"Fires"

Thomas Gallery

107 N. College Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana  

Opening reception Friday, November 3rd, 5-8pm

Can't wait to see you there...wear your party pants!

"Life"

oil on canvas

48" x 48"

"Fires" opens this Friday at the Thomas Gallery. 

107 N. College Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana  

Opening reception 5-8pm

"Genesis"

oil on canvas

36" x 48"