Painting of the Week

Painting of the Week – Animal House

Historical Roots

Animal House – A Tri-College Manifestation by Ellen Jean Diederich

Local Spirit

While taking pictures of the Rourke Art Museum for a client, I noticed how the building aligned with the Cobbers of Concordia College to the South, Moorhead State Dragons to the East and North Dakota State University Bison to the West. Having painted the Rourke earlier, the space with the flagpole needed  some corn or something. Guernica by Picasso came to mind and then the idea of putting animals into the windows. Baby Boomers may relate to this painting because it included inspiration from the movie “Animal House” and Bill Murray’s statement “Mass hysteria – dogs & cats living together” in Ghostbusters.

Fargo-Moorhead indeed could be called a college town. MSUM is my alma mater. One of my high school oil paintings was of a corn cob and I have enjoyed painting Bison. I love Debra Broad’s dragon she created for the MSUM logo and just learned how challenging that must have been. To make the dragon, I started with a lizard and then added wings and bird-like feet. Thank goodness for life drawing classes. Creating creatures is no easy task.

Tonight is the eve of the opening of our show at the Rourke Art Museum. I hope to see you there!

Three Women – A Watermedia Exhibit

Friday, February 25th to Sunday, April 3rd 2022

FEATURING:
Carmen Bruhn, Ellen Jean Diederich & Elizabeth Schwankl

Rourke Art Museum & Gallery, Moorhead, Minnesota
521 Main Avenue, Moorhead, MN 56560

Public Opening – Sunday, February 27th – 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a Gallery Talk at 2 p.m.

The original will be hung at the exhibit, but Animal House – A Tri-College Manifestation is available as a Giclée Reproduction. Though it’s not published yet, you can get the pre-issue discount when you order it now!

Locals can pick-up on Thursdays too.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

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