Emily Bright October 29, 2020 5:49 a.m.

Ceramic artist Damien Wolf recommended the vivid plein air paintings of Colleen Cosgrove of St. Paul. Painting outdoors, Cosgrove takes on subjects both large and small, from tomatoes newly plucked from her garden to landscapes, using bold strokes and bright colors.

“If Wishes Were Trees,” on exhibit next month at the Robbin Gallery in Robbinsdale’s “Extremely Minnesota” juried exhibit.
Courtesy of Colleen Cosgrove

“I like her work because it makes me look at the world around me differently,” Wolf said. He recalls seeing Cosgrove paint during the Art Shanty project on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis: “She [was] standing outside in the freezing cold painting all the other exhibits in the Art Shanty, and her color choices actually brought warmth to the scene around her.”

Cosgrove’s work is on display at the Frameworks Gallery in St. Paul through October. It will be at the “Extremely Minnesota” exhibit at the Robbin Gallery in Robbinsdale Nov. 5 through Dec. 5.