January 21, 2017

We're back after a nearly month long hiatus with lots of paintings, invitations to exhibitions, and more! We begin with a vacation painting by Madeleine. As always, we are impressed by her deft hand painting water.

More water by Madeleine.... a very different kind of water, but equally well handled. We love how she has captured both the reflections and the transparency.

Madeleine is using pen and ink for this vacation cityscape. We love the texture and the perspective and the lovely patios.

Here, Madeleine is painting a still life using her pen and wash style. If we didn't know that she's done some fine still life paintings in the past, we'd think it's time for another vacation for her.

 Bill also took advantage of the long break to revisit some landscapes. Below is an Irish countryside featuring highly textured stone walls highlighted against lush green beneath a beautiful blue sky.

 Bill revisited another painting; this is an urban landscape and Bill has carefully positioned the Chicago pigeons perched on a roofline. We like the way he has moved the roofline down to fill the painting with sky.

Like Madeleine, Bill has switched to a still life of a cactus. We love the glass and shadows and especially the background.

Steve is back from Hawaii but isn't quite ready to leave the islands behind. Here, he is painting with actual clay, mixed with a bit of water and medium. He is using a few different earth colors, but gets an incredible range. For a first experiment, we love the fine detail and retro feel he has achieved.

Elaine is also using a very limited palette in  this scene. And this is a self-portrait, too—yes, that's Elaine facing the viewer in her fire suit preparatory to a few laps in a race car. Exhilarating!

Tony's palette is also soft and limited as he paints a scene he sketched on a vacation to Greece. The hard elements are beautifully done and we can't wait to see him add the people.

 Susan moves a bit closer to home and adds a lot of color. This is a berry-and-ice-cream dessert she recently enjoyed and had to memorialize in paint. We especially like the geometrical complementary colors in the background.

If you are looking for color (and corn), Ken doesn't disappoint. He's beginning another series called "More Corn" and we are already in love.

Here's another painting in his new series. In this, we couldn't help notice that the corn is becoming more anthropomorphic. Or at the very least, it looks like a coat of many colors... something we could wear. Pat said she would wear it....

...so here she is, true to her word!

But the color doesn't end there. We have three new students and they are already painting their colorful plaids. Here is Rommel's, with an adorable tiny color wheel at the top.

Vivianne used hers to explore blooms.

And Jack used thin and thick to pattern his plaid....

...before moving on to the next step—his first color wheel. Can you see how wet the brushstrokes are?

And, as promised, here are some of our exhibitions you may want to visit. Mark your calendars!

The Corn Exhibit.  Ken will be having a show at Ten Cat. Drop by to see the art...and maybe play some pool. 

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     Exhibition: January 22–March 15, 2017
     Reception: January 28, 2017

Orange.  Bill and Madeleine are having an exhibit at Orange. Bill has watercolors; Madeleine has oils. Drop by for some food and some art.

      Where:
      Orange

      2431 N. Clark (north of Fullerton)
      Chicago, IL

     When:
     Ongoing through the end of February

See you next week!