View from Jagungal Lodge Kosciuszko National Park, Australia

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

View from Jagungal Lodge Kosciuszko National Park, Australia

acrylic paint on canvas board

11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm)
201905040

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://society6.com/product/kosciuszko-national-park-australia_print?sku=s6-10982257p4a1v45 or commission your own piece at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/186507940/custom-commission-original-art-by-mike

Everyone has someplace special to them.  For her family, it's Kosciuszko National Park in Australia.  It's where they gather for one time a year.  The days are spent skiing, drinking cocoa, and warming up next to a large fire.  They talk about their lives scattered around the globe.  And remember the good times growing up.  And this humble road in Kosciuszko National Park always says "I'm home."

View from Jagungal Lodge Kosciuszko National Park, Australia (sketch)

color pencil on paper

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
201905043

© copyright Mike Kraus

A quick sketch of a possible piece.  We wanted to make sure all the elements were there.  That it fit together appropriately.  And it had it's own unique sense of "place."

View from Jagungal Lodge Kosciuszko National Park, Australia (sketch)

oil pastel on paper

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
201905044

© copyright Mike Kraus

 Another quick sketch was completed to emphasize it's painterly colors.  The composition was slight adjusted.  And the colors are darker to boost contrast.  In the end, a combination of many of these features were used for the final piece.  It's a very thoughtful, original, and unique gift from a daughter to a dad.  I'm very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful project.

More About Mike Kraus Art

My NPR Marketplace Business News interview about art as an alternative investment

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/02/13/business/hobby-investments-cant-escape-darn-global-economy

Graphic Ear Interview on WAYO 104.3 FM

https://www.mixcloud.com/graphic-ear/070518-graphic-ear-with-mike-kraus/

Boston Voyager Magazine interview at:
www.bostonvoyager.com/interview/check-mike-krauss-artwork/

Michael Kraus was born on the industrial shoreline of Muskegon, Michigan. After earning his Fine Arts Degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he attended Grand Valley State University for his graduate degree. From there, he gained varied experiences from the Chicago Architecture Foundation, Art Institute of Chicago, Hauenstein Center For Presidential Studies, Lollypop Farm Humane Society, and the Children's Memorial Foundation. And every place he worked, he had his sketchbook with him and found ways to be actively creative. In 2014, Kraus became a full-time artist by establishing Mike Kraus Art. Since then, he has sold hundreds of paintings that are displayed in nearly every state and dozens of countries. Currently, Kraus lives in Rochester, New York with his beautiful wife and goofy dog.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MikeKrausArt
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikekrausart

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MikeKrausBlog

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

Elephants of Tanzania

Elephants of Tanzania, 2016

Acrylic on canvas board

350 dpi

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/245260139/elephants-of-tanzania-original-digital

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

The jeep bumps and shakes down the dusty road.  Our guide almost seems bored as our group is shocked and amazed by every element of the landscape.  We are on a visual hunt for the "big five" game animals: lion, rhino, buffalo, leopard, and elephant.  Our vehicle takes a tight turn and bursts through some dense bushes into the open Serengeti.  And that's when they appear.

This painting would look best in a space that is dark red, dark orange, yellow, green, light blue, purple, white, black, beige, or wood.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

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

Plains of Tanzania

Plains of Tanzania

acrylic on canvas board

350 dpi

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/231087557/plains-of-tanzania-original-digital

10% OFF with coupon code JOINTHEFUN

There's a wrestling outside my hut.  I slowly roll over and open my eyes.  As I sit up from my cot I see these long, graceful, spotted legs saunter by the window.  I wait a while for them to pass before I go outside to photograph them.  But, I waited too long.  Yet, I'm still left with this view before I depart for the safari.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

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

Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal

Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal, 2014

Acrylic on canvas board

10" x 8"

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/198949942/peneda-geres-national-park-portugal

Our little rental car struggles through the mountainous switchbacks in northern Portugal.  Just north of the little church Parque de São Bento da Porta Aberta, the small hatchback pulls over to an overlook of the Cávado River.  A valley filled with unique colorful flora.  Wind and water have carved this land of granite.  Now, if only we can find the trailhead to explore...

This painting would look best in a space that is light yellow, bright red, dark orange, or neutral beige.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

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

Peneda-Gerês National Park

Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal , 2014

Acrylic on canvas board

10" x 8"

© copyright Mike Kraus

To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/198169269/peneda-geres-national-park-portugal?

Our little rental car struggles through the mountainous switchbacks in northern Portugal.  Just north of Parque de São Bento da Porta Aberta, the little hatchback pulls over to an overlook of the Cávado River.  A valley filled with unique colorful flora.  Wind and water have carved this land of granite.  Now, if only we can find the trailhead to explore...

This painting would look best in a space that is light yellow, bright red, dark orange, or neutral beige.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

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

Mike and Megan's Honeymoon: Day 11 - Peneda-Gerês National Park

July 8th

Wecome to Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês (Peneda-Gerês National Park) !

Megan and I rented a car and drove toward Peneda-Gerês. They have some very, very crazy roads.

Albufeira da Caniçada

Plaid shorts and a striped shirt. I'm a snazzy dresser!

Here's our Hyundai with such amenities as bike tires and a lawnmower engine. I really don't know how they even made this to have 4 doors.

Ok, so around this point we couldn't find a tourist center or anything. So, we saw another couple on the side of the road looking at a map and decided to ask them where they got a park map. They were Czech and didn't know where they were either. But, on their map was a tourist center. So, they invited us to follow them while they drove at high speeds around cliffs and hairpin turns with blind curves in their Peugeot. After a lot of going around in circles, we finally made it and got what we were looking for. The Czech guy asked us "Where in the US are you from" and we said Chicago. He got real excited and said "I love Married With Children." Excellent.

São Bento da Porta Aberta. This church had all sorts of people at it making pilgrimages and crawling on their knees and other stuff I've only seen on TV. We looked inside (we couldn't go it because I had shorts and Megan wasn't dressed like a lady), we've checked online and we still don't know what is in there that makes people go crazy about it. But, they do... Oh also, the national park trail that apparently starts here, doesn't and no one has ever heard of it.

A church in a holding pen

Wind power

These were massive windmills. Each blade seemed to be a wing off a Boeing 747 or larger.

You know those little Smart bubble cars? Here's their sports coupe.

As some of you may know, there's been some financial issues in Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal tied with the global financial meltdown. This is a protest outside our hotel, Mercure Porto Centro, the the Praça da Batalha (Battle Square), which is usually where old guys and little girls on bikes hang out. The protest is against cuts the government intends to make.

King Pedro IV again on the Avenida dos Aliados

Shopping area near the college

Jardins do Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens)

A sports and concert arena in the park

crazy angular pine tree

Peacock running toward me. With my history of birds in Portugal, I did get a bit nervous.

But, he only wanted food and left as soon as he realized I didn't have any...

View of Porto looking toward the Atlantic Ocean. Pretty much the only "weather" we saw the whole time and it was just low clouds and a much appreciated cool breeze

Porto toward the Douro River valley

A little church in the park

child choking a bird

A hollow tree. If this were in Chicago, someone would live in this tree...

My lady's Renault

Praça Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator Square) and his statue.

Ol' Henry himself

The Stock Exchange Palace. We didn't go into it, but apparently it's pretty amazing and they spared no expense in it's 18 year construction.

My favorite piece of Portuguese art at a restaurant in Porto. Want to see what 5 Euros ($6 US) can get you over here?

Here's my Caldo Verde soup and pint of Super Bock beer

Oh, and my beef platter with rice, salad, and, of course, french fries.

Megan's pork platter and all the fixings. Notice her carafe of wine. Good deal!

An interesting tile shop.