Larry Veeder

I was born and raised in western North Dakota and was interested in drawing at an early age. I also enjoyed fishing, shooting and a few sports but wasn't much of an athlete. I got rheumatic fever at the age of 11 and while bedridden for 7 months my drawing skills improved considerably. I wasn't exposed to very much art except Charlie Russell prints which we saw in most restaurants and shops when we went on vacation in Montana, and Norman Rockwell covers on the Saturday Evening Post. Naturally I wanted to be an illustrator when I went to the Minneapolis School of Art but those were the days of Abstract Expressionism and various other "Isms", so I became exposed to all kinds of art, thus changing my outlook considerably. Since then I have tried almost every approach, media and technique but don't consider myself attached to any particular style.

I have participated in the "Artists Ride" in South Dakota, a photo and research event for artists where I have found some wonderful models for western paintings. My wife and I have also traveled extensively through the West and Southwest, visiting petroglyph sites, Indian ruins, and as many of the national parks that we could reach. We still find much beauty here in the Mississippi valley in Minnesota; there are lots of painting ideas in my own back yard.

I worked in both oil and watercolor during my art school days, since then have studied watercolor with Irving Shapiro, Edward Betts, and John Salminen. Many of my watercolors are combined with gouache or other media, and I enjoy still life, landscape and figures. I try to apply abstract design principals to my realistic paintings, and sometimes work in a semi-abstract or completely abstract mode. I feel that no matter how old I get I will keep on finding new approaches and learning from other artists.