Saper Galleries is the source for Lou Heiser oil paintings of Michigan

Lou Heiser was born in Chicago, Illinois (1938) where he attended The Chicago Art Institute, and later studied oil painting at the University of Illinois while pursuing an architectural degree.

He has had a long career of about 30 years in Chicago as an illustrator working for advertising agencies and studios, ultimately owning a small studio. As an illustrator, Lou worked with and became friends with many illustrators that are currently considered to be some of the best fine artists in the country. Lou and his wife, Lynn, divide their year between Leelanau County, Michigan and Tucson, Arizona.

At this exhibition you will enjoy the artist's striking use of color to depict what he observes from the lookouts, hills, rivers, dunes, fields, roads, and farm country in the northwestern area of Michigan's lower peninsula. You are certain to be taken by Lou Heiser's unique portrayal of some of Michigan's lesser known scenes from the eyes of a true artist who captures those moments when light and majesty highlight the Vistas of Michigan.

We hope to welcome you to see the Lou Heiser paintings here in person.

~ Roy Saper

Artist Lou Heiser and gallery owner Roy Saper in the framing department of Saper Galleries holding the painting Daybreak Sky. Banner wrapped around the upper level of the Saper Galleries building in downtown East Lansing, Michigan.	Lou Heiser was born in Chicago, Illinois (1938) where he attended The Chicago Art Institute, and later studied oil painting at the University of Illinois while pursuing an architectural degree. He has had a long career of about 30 years in Chicago as an illustrator working for advertising agencies and studios, ultimately owning a small studio. As an illustrator, Lou worked with and became friends with many illustrators that are currently considered to be some of the best fine artists in the country. Lou and his wife, Lynn, divide their year between Leelanau County, Michigan and Tucson, Arizona. At this exhibition you will enjoy the artist's striking use of color to depict what he observes from the lookouts, hills, rivers, dunes, fields, roads, and farm country in the northwestern area of Michigan's lower peninsula. You are certain to be taken by Lou Heiser's unique portrayal of some of Michigan's lesser known scenes from the eyes of a true artist who captures those moments when light and majesty highlight the *Vistas of Michigan*. We hope to welcome you to see the Lou Heiser paintings here in person. ~ Roy Saper	Roy Saper, framing manager Jennifer, artist Lou Heiser at the exhibition opening October 4, 2015. "Illustration was a wonderful experience and training ground for my current landscape painting. Unencumbered by deadlines as an illustrator, oil painting offers many freedoms including a third dimension of texture and brushwork. While I enjoy painting on location for its teaching aspects, I prefer studio painting where less visual scenery forces more imagination and design."
A sample from the exhibition of Lou Heiser paintings on display right now!
As the Old Mission Peninsula juts out between the West and East Bay of Lake Michigan (just north of Traverse City, Michigan), the temperatures are moderated and, combined with well drained hilly soil, create perfect conditions for wine country. Artistically, I had to paint the rows of vines as they roamed the undulating hill, and add Mari Vineyards' old world chateau at the top of the hill and you would think you were in Tuscany.	Old Mission Peninsula (Michigan) Mari Vinyard New! Oil painting on wood panel 20 x 20" $2,000 framed
	Big Sky in Little Black Lake (Nestled in Norton Shores, Michigan) New! Oil painting on wood panel 24 x 18" $3,000 framed
	Where the Sky Lives (Grand Haven, Michigan South Pier) New! Oil painting on wood panel 24 x 18" $3,000 framed
	1947 Ford 8N Tractor Leelanau County, Michigan Oil painting on wood panel 24 x 18" Sorry, sold for $3,000 framed
Boarded Up <New! Martin Basch Farm (circa 1885), in the Port Oneida District, is now owned by the National Park Service. While painting this plein-air canvas, two sandhill cranes landed in tall grass nearby and proceeded to ignore this painter. Oil painting on canvas, 11 x 14" $1,200 framed	Bohemian Valley <New! Once a tiny village on Bohemian Road Rte.669 in Leelanau County, now only this beautiful little church remains along with a few farms. I really liked the shadow from the steeple and decided on a dramatic cloud formation as a lofty tribute. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 16" $2,000 framed	Cottonwood Side Trail <New! Cottonwood Trail off Stocking Drive ends at the top of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Climb. This painting was selected to be in the book “Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes” and was exhibited at Dennis Museum in Traverse City. Oil painting on canvas, 24 x 30" $3,500 framed
Misty River On an oxbow bend in the Crystal River, I saw this early morning haze. Since I tend to paint with some thickness, I dragged the hazy area thin for a transparent effect, then proceeded to build the balance of the canvas with thickness. Oil painting on linen, 16 x 20" Sorry, sold for $2,000 framed	Over the Flat River <New! Fallasburg Covered Bridge built in 1871 has a one hundred foot span and is one of only four still open to traffic in Michigan. The historic village of Fallasburg is a short distance from Ada where another covered bridge is located. Oil painting on canvas, 14 x 11" $1,200 framed	Sand Waves <New! When the foot prints of hikers get blown away, the end result is often waves in the sand. I particularly like to see trails that meander, disappear behind hills, and reappear. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" $2,000 framed
Still Standing <New! During this plein-air painting, I felt the urgency to paint fast before the barn gave up and fell down. It’s sill standing one year later even though most of the support structure is gone. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" $2,000 framed	Two Mallards In the shadows on the Crystal River, I spotted a female and male mallard. The Crystal is truly clear and one of the crookedest rivers in the State of Michigan. Probably one of the most scenic also. Oil painting on canvas, 14 x 11" Sorry, sold for $1,200 framed	Sunset Storm A combination of three photos, one of the lighthouse taken from a friend’s boat during a visit to South Manitou Island, a separate storm photo and one of my many sunset photos. I then completed this fairly large painting in the comfort of my studio. Oil painting on canvas, 24 x 30" Sorry, sold for $3,500 framed
August Sky From this vantage point, Shalda Creek meanders through grassy meadows and ultimately spills into Lake Michigan. The inlet has become a favorite playground for children -- and adults acting like children. Oil painting on medium density fiberboard 20 x 20" Sorry, sold for $2,300 framed	Carsten Burfiend Field Plein-air painting of this historic farm of the first settlers of Port Oneida. In 1862 a dock was built off this farm land, and the community was named Port Oneida after the first steamship to arrive, the SS Oneida. Oil painting on canvas, 12 x 9" Sorry, sold for $950 framed	Cedars Tangled Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 16" $1,600 framed
Sun Washed On a particularly bright day while hiking Sleeping Bear point near Glen Arbor (in northern Michigan), I noticed a group of young Poplars hanging on a slope that dropped off to the big lake. I painted a yellow sky to capture the intensity of the sun. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" $1,900 framed		Crystal Flats While the Crystal River is one of the most crooked in northern Michigan, it widens at one point creating a flat area of reflected trees along the shoreline. The river is more like a still pond in this section. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" Sorry, sold for $1,600 framed
Miller Hill Lookout The lookout, created by power lines is the small slash in the distant hill at the left of the painting. Many people drive up there for views of the sunsets, but miss the intimate Tucker Lake below with its beavers and eagles. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed		Angle of Repose The approximate 45 degree angle when sand begins to slide forever changing the dunescape, burying and unburying trees and dune grass. Some trees that are exposed years later appear as petrified wood. Oil painting on canvas, 8 x 10" Sorry, sold for $850 framed
Broken Path The always shifting sand in the (northern Michigan) Sleeping Bear Dunes seems to alter trails and paths daily. Beach grass and other vegetation attempt to hold their ground, but the constant winds usually prevail. Oil painting on canvas, 11 x 14" Sorry, sold for $1,000 framed		Clouds Born of the Sky Clouds are my favorite subject, and I had to paint this view of Harbor Springs (Michigan) main street with the iconic church steeple at the end of the street. It’s a storybook setting and the clouds seem to grow from nowhere. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 20" $2,000 framed
Sky in the River The Kelderhouse/Brammer grist mill dating from mid-1800s is located on the Crystal River near Glen Arbor in northern Michigan. Painted against a western sky reflecting in the beautiful river, I never tire of painting sky and water. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 16" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed	Glow of Pink I’m always attracted to farm settings on hilltops silhouetted against the sky. This scene was at dusk, and very grey so I added a pink sun-setting sky, and tossed some color into the buildings. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 20" Sorry, sold for $2,000 framed	Two Fields While roaming Leelanau County, I photographed and sketched two horses in an open field. Later, I happened upon these two fields and decided to paint the horses in the lower field. Trees were just starting to turn. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 20" Sorry, sold for $2,000 framed
Neither Day or Night The sun just dropped below the tree line, spilling through onto the field. This was the setting for this farm on South Lake Leelanau (Michigan). Since the farmhouse was abandoned, I decided to paint it with a ghost-like appearance. Oil painting on canvas, 24 x 18" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed	Seasonal Road Leelanau County, Michigan has miles of seasonal roads which means they are not plowed during the winter which averages 110 inches of snow. This road is in the park system near the town of Empire. Oil painting on canvas, 12 x 9" Sorry, sold for $950	Fall Just Happens I came around a corner and had to stop when I saw these three horses at the end of a long shadow, just catching some light on their backs. The shadow was caused by a large pine that didn’t work in an earlier study, so I replaced the pine tree with a colorful maple in a rolling foreground. Oil painting on board, 24 x 24" Sorry, sold for $2,900 framed
Hint of Fall Climb With South Manitou Island in the background, this dunescape was the location for our dear friend's daughter's September wedding last year. Oil painting on canvas, 12 x 9" Sorry, sold for $950 framed	Buffalo Clouds The wonderful watercolorist, Buffalo Kaplinski sent this cloud picture to me that was taken at his Colorado ranch. I couldn't resist adding to it a dunescape at Sleeping Bear Point trail. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 16" Sorry, sold for $1,700 framed	Acadia French for Heaven on Earth. North Bar Lake as it empties into Lake Michigan. View is from Stocking Drive, Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park. Oil painting on canvas, 18 x 24" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed
Wet Alligator Alligator Hill is part of a narrow strip of land separating Sleeping Bear Bay of Lake Michigan from Glen Lake. This is the location for the town of Glen Arbor. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" Sorry, sold for $1,700 framed		Starlit Harbor Springs Harbor Springs is a beautiful little town in far northwest Michigan's lower peninsula. A street up the hill to the north with grand Victorian houses overlooks the town and bay, and at nightfall everything sparkles. Oil painting on canvas, 30 x 30" Sorry, sold for $2,400 framed
Shalda Creek Named for a family still living nearby, the creek meanders from Little Traverse Lake to where it empties into Good Harbor Bay of Lake Michigan. Oil painting on canvas, 12 x 9" Sorry, sold for $950 framed	Dune Climb Above the popular dune climb near Stocking Drive is this view of Little and Big Glen Lake, considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Oil painting on canvas, 20 x 16" Sorry, sold for $1,700 framed	Barelimbed Birch The beautiful crystal river as it snakes from Little Fisher Lake to Lake Michigan. Oil painting on canvas, 24 x 18" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed
Poplars Hanging On Near Glen Haven along Sleeping Bear Point trail, many trees, mostly poplars, never reach maturity because of winds and constantly shifting sands. Oil painting on canvas, 18 x 24" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed		Daybreak Sky Sleeping Bear trail view towards South Manitou Island. The dunescape is like being on another planet, and changes dramatically in just months. Oil painting on canvas, 16 x 20" Sorry, sold for $1,700 framed
Martin Basch Farm Plein-air painting of this historic farm located in Port Oneida Rural historic district of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Park. Oil painting on canvas, 9 x 12" Sorry, sold for $950 framed		Walls of Blossoms Somewhere in the middle of Leelanau County above Suttons Bay at the end of an unused gravel road. The land was probably added to adjoining orchard because the home was actually abandoned. Oil painting on canvas, 18 x 24" Sorry, sold for $1,900 framed