Mabry Mill

Peter & I returned from our trip to the East Coast last evening.
So many pictures to look through. It will take some time for us to sort these all out.
Just wanted to show you some of the gorgeous fall colors that we saw on our trip.

This image was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Tuesday Oct. 27th. The weather and the colors were perfect. We were kept busy all day trying to capture as much as possible.

On Wed. we planned to travel farther south to the Smoky Mountains, but it started to rain and did not stop all day. We drove north and stayed in Charleston, WV.

Preview for Gallery Night

As Peter & I finish up last minute details for our Gallery show tomorrow evening, I thought I would give you a bit of a preview of what you can expect to see.

The back room of Soup's On has mainly nature and flower images.
We will also be showing several portraits that I have painted. We will be taking orders for commissioned portraits this weekend as well.

Throughout the rest of the gallery you will find images of Milwaukee.

We hope to see you Friday night from 6 - 10pm
or Saturday from 11 - 2pm.

Colorado Aspens

On our month long trip to Colorado and Wyoming,
we came across many hillsides ablaze
with the golden hues of aspen.
We stopped to take many pictures.
I am always taken by the
bright colors and the repeating lines of the trees.
It is definitely one of my favorite subjects.



When we returned home and began looking at all of
our 100's of images it was difficult to decide which one
to paint. Could never decide on only one, so here is
my first of I hope many renditions of this wonderful tree
that decorates the countryside in our Western States.

Gallery Exhibit

Peter & I worked on Saturday & Sunday hanging all of our images at Soup's On!
Will go back today for some final tweaking.

We think it looks great and hope you will as well.
Show features our Milwaukee images as a preview to the publishing of our book:
"Milwaukee, Wisconsin: A Photographic Portrait"

as well as images from our travels to the western States.
Show will also include new painted flower images by Renee.

Hope to see you there for our reception on Friday night October 16th
from 6p.m. to 10p.m. or Saturday October 17th from 11a.m. to 2p.m.

Soup's On gallery is located at 221 North Water Street.
Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

See you there!

Final Touches

This week has been a busy one for us.
I have been putting the final touches on my paintings for the exhibit that we will be hanging on Saturday.
Peter is finishing all of the framing work that needs to be done.

We will begin to hang our show tomorrow and finish by Sunday.

Exhibit/Artist Reception will be next Friday Night the 16th from 6p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday the 17th from 11a.m. to 2p.m.

Exhibit will be at Soup's On.
221 North Water Street.

Exhibit will remain hung until the first week of January 2010.

We hope you will make time to come down to see our latest works.

2009 Gallery Weekend

Peter & I are busily finishing up preparations for
Gallery Weekend in Oct.
Matting, framing, stretching & painting.
Hope you all will be able to join us.

We will be at Soup's On.
221 North Water Street
in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
Friday, Oct. 16th from 6p.m. to 10p.m
and Sat. Oct. 17th from 11a.m. to 2p.m.

See you there!

2009 Gallery Weekend

Join us for Gallery Night and Day on Oct. 16 & 17th at Soup's On!
Artist reception on Friday will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Soup's On is located at 221 North Water St. in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.

Exhibit features photographic reflections and painted impressions by city dwellers Renée & Peter Skiba. Please join us as we preview our upcoming book, "Milwaukee Wisconsin: A Photographic Portrait".

Scenic and nature images from our travels in Colorado and Wyoming will also be on display.

Exhibit will be at the gallery from Oct. 16th through Jan. 8th, 2010.

Snow in the Foothills outside Lander, Wyoming

Sunday night was cool and rainy in Lander, Wyoming.
Monday morning revealed a dusting of new snow in the
elevated foothills outside of town.
We drove to Red Rock Canyon and the Loop Road.
Aspens displayed their bright fall foliage. This mixed with the
new snowfall made for magnificent contrasts.

Aspens in the San Juan Mountains

Late summer scenes start to blend into fall like this stand of aspens in the San Juan Mountains. A glimpse of late afternoon sun highlights the trunks contrasting them to the otherwise cloudy surrounding skies. A drive on a Forest Road led us past stands of shimmering aspen leaves counting the days left before their flutter to the forest floor.

More Late Summer Flowers and Butterflies

Before we head out on our trip to Colorado & Wyoming
I felt the need to do another painting of the many butterflies
that visit our yard. By the time we return, they will have
headed south and the flowers will have gone to rest.

Watch for our pictures along the way of our trip.
Mountains, bison, big horn sheep, antelope, canyons.
Excited just thinking about it!

Chasing down bees

Peter was out chasing down bees again on our Obedient plant
in the yard. Harder to get the bee to listen to directions!

M-Café Display

Peter & I would just like to remind all of our art loving friends
about our artwork that is currently on display at M-Café.
M-Café is in downtown Milwaukee.
A great place to grab a cup of coffee, a sweet treat
or a sandwich and look at the artwork.
The café is located at 535 East Wells.
Directly across from Cathedral Square.
They are open from 7:00AM to 2:30PM.

We have just installed a special display of
photo greeting cards.

Our display will be available until the end of Sept 2009.
Please stop by when you are in the area.

New Material for our October Show

Peter & I have been working hard the last couple of days to prepare
images, cards & bookmarks for sale and display at our next
Gallery Weekend beginning in October.
We will be at Soup's On at 221 North Water St.
Gallery night Artist reception will begin at 5PM on
Friday October 16th. We will be there on Saturday
as well.

Display will be up until the end of the year.

Make plans to see the new show that Peter & I will be having.

Along with the prints hanging, there will be other size prints for sale
as well as photo greeting cards and bookmarks.
The bookmarks and cards are photos, many of which will be in our
new book: "Milwaukee, WI: A Photographic Portrait".
Our book is expected to be published in the spring of 2010.

Another post from our prairie wanderings

Spent some chasing after bees, birds and bugs yesterday.
Captured many in flight.

Yes, this one is actually perched on the top of this flower.
How do they do that?
Such balance. Such poise.
Enjoyment to watch.

Headed South or?

is the family just out for a Sunday afternoon practice flight?
Hoping it is just practice.
Beautiful day for doing just about anything.

More Finch from our wanderings

Peter seems to be "capturing" many finch that are attracted to the flowers in our yard.
He is patient as they seem to disappear as fast as they come.

I enjoy painting his images in my own expressive way.

Here is another one from today's adventures.

New Scenics for Fall

Is it fall yet?
Love the cooler nights.

This image was painted from a photo that was taken last year
on a Fall trip to Northern Wisconsin.

New Portraits on our Website

We are now making available painted portraits.
We can either book a portrait sitting for you now or
we can work from a picture that you already have and cherish.

Please check out our website for all our other fine art. Call Peter at 414-465-9448 for pricing and appointments.

New Updates on our Website

New additions to our website:
www.skibafineart.com

Exhibit for the first quarter of 2010

Peter and I met today with the Manager of the the Pyramax Bank on North Water Street in the Third Ward and received a warm welcoming. They thought our artwork would fit well into their gallery area and gave us a commitment to exhibit our work beginning in January.
Exhibit will continue through the end of March 2010.

New Gallery Show in Jan 2010

We are heading to the 3rd Ward in Milwaukee to discuss
possibilities of showing our art in Jan. 2010.
From what we have heard, it will begin for Jan. Gallery
Weekend and be on display for the first quarter of 2010.

Our intent is to display our works of art that tell a story about Milwaukee.
We will be highlighting many of the images that will be in our
upcoming book: "Milwaukee, WI A Photographic Portrait".

Will keep everyone abreast of details as they come together.

Milwaukee Artist's Market Painting

This painting was done from a photograph that was taken on
Saturday July 25th at the Milwaukee Artist Marketplace.
I loved the scene of all the activity and the bright colors.

My intent was for an impressionistic scene.

Morning Glory Art Fair

Peter & I decided to head to downtown Milwaukee today to check out our competition at the Morning Glory Art Fair. We had terrible winds and rain yesterday. Some of the artists had merchandise damaged. Some even went so far as to leave the grounds on Saturday rather than sustain any additional damage.

Still there were many artists who stayed for the entire weekend.
It was hot but a bit cooler "by the lake".
Rain held off today until mid afternoon.
I am certain many of the artists left early again today.

After the Art Fair we headed north to Cafe Sopra Mare on the grounds of the Villa Terrace.
There were treated to live music, coffee and sweets.
Many who were there come every weekend in the summer to sit, read, enjoy conversation and good music in the courtyard.

It was a pleasant way to spend the day.

We are back home and the rain, wind, thunder and lightening has started once again!

Spring Poppy

Adding more pictures for our blog that will be in our Fall Gallery Exhibition.

Want to give you a taste of what you will be seeing in October.

Birds & Flowers

"Branching" out from my simple painted flowers to flowers with the added attraction of a bird.

This thistle plant was lunch for our backyard finch.

New Paintings for Fall Gallery Night

Working on the printing of my newest flower paintings.

These will be on display at October Gallery Night.

Hope to see you there!

Gallery Night for October

We know it is still August and summertime activities are still very much a part of our lives, but Peter & I are also busy looking forward to our next Gallery Night presentation for October.
Artist reception will be held on October 16th at Milwaukee's Soup's On Gallery in the 3rd Ward.


We are currently working on new images that will be on display.
New painted images will include many of Renée flowers.
Peter will be including more of the images from our book: "Milwaukee, Wi, a Photographic Portrait".

As we move closer to the date, we will give you more information on the Reception that will be held that Friday night, October 16th.
We hope to see all of our friends and followers there for the opening.
Images will be on display until the end of 2009.

Pre Publication Presentation

Peter & I have been invited to talk about the upcoming release of our book: "Milwaukee, WI: A Photographic Portrait".
We will be presenting a slide show and talk previewing the contents of our book on Milwaukee.

Presentation will be given at St. Francis Library in early October 2009. More details about specific date and time will be posted later.

Feels Like Fall this morning

Feels like fall this morning, so thought I would paint a
fall scene. Love the colors of fall. So rich and warm.
Enjoy fall and wish we could jump right over into spring!

MARN Musical Benefit

An Evening of Folk Music with Linda Corbin-Pardee & Don Pardee at the Milwaukee Friends Meeting House.

Peter & Renee Skiba joined dozens of other music lovers and friends of MARN Saturday night for an evening of folk music with Linda Corbin-Pardee, Don Pardee and fellow musicians.
We were treated to delightful folk music.
Proceeds from the event are to benefit MARN and their support of emerging artists in Milwaukee.

More pictures from the event can be seen on Facebook under Renee Skiba.

Sunflower

A simple yet most beautiful flower.
Seen everywhere and sometimes taken for granted.

Take time to stop and look at these magnificent flowers.
I especially love a whole field filled with these beauties.

Summertime Flowers

Summertime in our gardens!
What a delightful time of the year.
Thanks to Peter who took these pictures.

I used his photos to create my versions of how I
see these flowers.
We are now trying to capture some of the butterflies and
finches that are in abundance. As of now, we have not been
fast enough.

And still waiting to catch a glimpse of the ever elusive
hummingbirds!

Adding to our wedding portraits

Wedding Portraits

Another in our series of portraits.

Working on more portraits

This photo was taken in Whitnall Park.
It was fall and a beautiful setting
for a wedding.

Making it into an acrylic painting 2 years
later was a fun project.

Hoping Jodi & Lee enjoy this rendition.

I would love to create a painting of your favorite
image as well. Please contact me for a booking.

Pictures from Milwaukee Artist Marketplace

MAM Artist Marketplace

On Saturday July 25th we were privileged to share space
on the steps of Milwaukee Art Museum with
80 other local artists.

The weather was superb.
Some clouds looked threatening but
the rain held off until the show was completed at 5PM.

Many folks stopped by. Traffic was steady.
We took the opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with old
friends and meet new art lovers.
Peter even recognized a former high school classmate from the
early 60's who stopped by his booth!

Personalized Signature

On Saturday morning, Candy Robinson came to the
Milwaukee Artist Marketplace at the Lakefront to have
her painting that she purchased the evening before
personally signed by Renée.
Such an honor to both sell a painting and then also
to sell to an old friend who you know will frame and
display it with pride.
It is especially an honor knowing that Candy is
an experienced interior designer.

Update on Art Work at M Café

This evening's show was great!
So many new and old friends showed up to give us
support and look at our newest photographs and paintings.
It was a very pleasant, easy going flow of visitors says Peter.
Peter who was there representing both of us as I was
unfortunately unable to attend.

It was an unexpectedly and pleasant surprise to see our dear
old friends, Dan & Candy Robinson come down for the show.
Much to our delight, Candy went home with her own limited
edition print of "Riverwalk Reflections".

M-Cafe_July Gallery NIght

Tonite's the big night for July Gallery event.
Peter & I have over 40 images on display at the
Café.

The Artist Reception is tonight from 5 - 10 PM
Wine, snacks and great conversation.

I will be unable to attend because of recent surgery
but Peter will be there.

All images will be displayed and on sale until the end of
September.

Hope you can make it!

Preparing for Milwaukee Artist Marketplace

As the week moves along, and we are satisfied
with the images that are being displayed at M-Cafe
we now move on to making sure that we are ready
to show more of our work at Milwaukee's Artist
Marketplace.

This is a one-day event.
Peter & I will each have a booth set up on the steps of the
Calatrava. Booths 40 and 55.

What a wonderful privilege it is to be showing our works there.
We will again have some of our works depicting life in Milwaukee
as well as our latest portraits.
Please stop down and say hi.

Preparing for Exhibitions/Sales

It is a lot of work to prepare for shows.
And that is just what has kept us busy this week.
Printing, sorting, framing etc.
2 shows in one weekend!

First one will be at M Cafe on Milwaukee's East Side.
535 East Wells St.
This is the beginning of Gallery Night & Weekend.
There will be an Artist Reception on Friday night
July 24th from 5-10PM.
Work shown will be from our new book that will be
published in Jan. 2010.
"Milwaukee, Wisconsin, A Photographic Portrait"
These images will remain at the Cafe until the
end of Sept. 2009.

Hope to see you there!

Preparing for July Gallery Night at M Cafe

Peter & I will be showing over 40 of our photos and paintings at M Cafe
for July Gallery Night and Day. .
There will be an Artist Reception on Friday evening from 5:00 - 10:00PM

M Cafe is located at 535 East Wells.

Please join us for an exciting evening.

Good bye old Careers. Hello to our new adventures!

Last evening, Peter & I had a retirement/transition party
at M Cafe in Milwaukee.
Many friends showed up to wish us well on our new ventures, share in good conversation, good food and drinks.

The cafe was decorated with pictures that we had hung this past week in preparation for this coming weekend's
Gallery Night & Day on July 24th and 25th.
Artist Reception will be Friday evening from 5-10PM.
We hope you will be able to stop by during the evening.
Display will be hung until the end of Sept. 2009.

more pictures from party

Old Proverb:
Watch out for man wielding VERY large knife!