This one came from a warm day in downtown La Crosse. What caught me was the sunshine and the constant movement outside The Pearl — people drifting up and down Pearl Street, the sidewalk full of light, and that feeling that the whole block was awake.
The Pearl is one of those places that already feels like part of the city’s visual identity. It sits in historic downtown La Crosse, and local tourism listings describe it as a longtime local staple with a 1930s-style ice cream parlor feel, homemade ice cream, and local Wisconsin dairy. That old-fashioned character is part of what makes the scene so good to paint.
In Outside The Pearl, I wasn’t trying to paint every sign and window perfectly. The point was the atmosphere — the crowd, the warmth, the storefront color, and the way summer light turns an ordinary sidewalk into something worth paying attention to.
Want a print instead? You can find prints of this piece here: Outside the Pearl.
Painting details
Painting Size: 8 x 10 inch
Medium: Oil on panel
Date Painted: August 22, 2025
Framed: Framed and ready to hang
This one came from a warm day in downtown La Crosse. What caught me was the sunshine and the constant movement outside The Pearl — people drifting up and down Pearl Street, the sidewalk full of light, and that feeling that the whole block was awake.
The Pearl is one of those places that already feels like part of the city’s visual identity. It sits in historic downtown La Crosse, and local tourism listings describe it as a longtime local staple with a 1930s-style ice cream parlor feel, homemade ice cream, and local Wisconsin dairy. That old-fashioned character is part of what makes the scene so good to paint.
In Outside The Pearl, I wasn’t trying to paint every sign and window perfectly. The point was the atmosphere — the crowd, the warmth, the storefront color, and the way summer light turns an ordinary sidewalk into something worth paying attention to.
Want a print instead? You can find prints of this piece here: Outside the Pearl.
Painting details
Painting Size: 8 x 10 inch
Medium: Oil on panel
Date Painted: August 22, 2025
Framed: Framed and ready to hang