July 7, 2012

Of course, the big news was the heat, but even bigger news was how we've been dealing with it. Two of our number dropped by the hospital ER this week—neither for anything heat-related, thankfully. Sadly, one of the two was our own beloved teacher, as you can see by the token empty chair in our video. She's still feeling exhausted and somewhat under the weather (ha! couldn't resist a weather reference there), but you can't tell by looking at what we did. Neither excessive heat nor a loose hand at the helm could stop the painting. Just look below.

We start with some of our favorite exercises—color matching and the 3-way fruit/vegetable. From there, we feature some our favorite escapes from the heat—cool fruits of summer, verdant landscapes and beach scenes, colorful trolleys to get away from it all, pets and folk tales, and self-portraits. Notice the beginning of a wonderful tradition—Sara's annual self-portrait. It's going to be fun to watch the progression from the beginning sketch, through the quick study, and on to the first brushstrokes of this year's masterpiece. Keep watching!

And the bonus at the very end? A review of the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Art Institute. Actually, it's more of a personal take than an actual review, but it's a thumbs up!

Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective

It's the Art Institute's newest blockbuster so, of course, we saw it and talked about it. What follows is one person's opinion, not a group consensus.

I have to admit that I was a bit ambivalent at first. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even think I'd like it! In my defense, all I really knew of him was the iconic comic book paintings (and all the publicity seemed to feature that style, too), but I simply wasn't on the bandwagon. In fact, I was so ambivalent that I stopped first to see the Renaissance drawing exhibit (and I highly recommend that!) to be sure I saw something I liked.

Finally, I saw the Lichtenstein Retrospective. I'm very glad I did. There was so much more than I expected—rooms and rooms of paintings, drawings, sculpture and more. The rooms are used to organize his artwork in series around his studio, nudes, landscapes, brushstrokes, explosions, mirrors and, of course, the pop art cartoons.

All in all, I'm not ashamed to admit I changed my opinion of Roy Lichtenstein. There's a lot behind those simple halftone dots. He used them purposefully with deliberate intent throughout his lifetime (almost as systematic and cerebral as Seurat, actually). My favorites were the landscapes, though; I lingered there awhile. They're wonderful—and I wasn't even aware he did landscapes! (See a sampling below.)

Go see this exhibit. It's worth it!