Painter Todd Voss in his studio in Detroit Lakes , MN ( Submitted Photo )
Finding Solace Through the Arts
BY CYNTHIA PARSONS , CONTRIBUTING WRITER
North minnesota
ARTS
Todd Voss of Detroit Lakes , Minnesota is a full-time professional artist , specializing in farm landscapes of the Upper Midwest since 1990 . Born in Davenport , Iowa , the rolling wooded farmland of the Mississippi River Valley where he was raised influenced his early connection to the land .
His paintings reflect his early years , as well as his love for Minnesota scenes of farms , lakes , and wilderness . His medium is mostly oil and watercolor in both plein air ( painting outdoors ) and in his studio . “ I paint in oils in what I call a painterly realism style ,” Voss said .
He first started drawing as a child , drawing the characters in his favorite comic books – Bugs Bunny , Road Runner , Porky Pig , the whole gang . “ I found art engrossing and I ’ d lose track of the time of day ,” Voss said . “ I found it satisfying to craft a painting – drawing and developing it . It ’ s a focused time and removes the mind from day-to-day thoughts and problems .”
An art teacher in grade school recognized his abilities and his parents were encouraging . Voss ’ s father did drawings of caricatures and was a partner at Blackhawk Films , a Davenport company that owned the rights to and sold copies of many of the old black and white films of Laurel and Hardy , W . C . Fields , the Little Rascals , Gene Autry , Charlie Chaplin , etc . After he retired at 50 , he began his woodworking
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