November 4, 2017

Have we got a theme for you today! Seriously, we're so in tune with each other that we're not even going to make an effort to sort things out.... we'll just go alphabetically. And, as a special treat, we will start with a mini-theme that you'll never suspect in a million years. We begin with one by Alan. It's a dog in a bar in Mississippi. Seriously—that's his glass of water in front of him.

 

...followed by Greeta's painting of a friend's dog at the wheel of her car at a gas station. Is this the first dog's designated driver? Does he drive for Uber or Lyft and where does he keep his license? More importantly, where do Alan and Greeta meet these dogs?!  Most of us are lucky if our dogs come when called!

Back to Alan and our more normal paintings. This is a beautifully atmospheric painting of a foggy lake, framed by delicate foliage. It's painted on watercolor canvas.

You may recall this painting Alan started last week. While he's finished it, he's using it as a study...

... for a larger painting on Yupo.

Bill is into atmospheric paintings too. This is a scene from Evanston featuring a brick path and park bench. But the real center of interest is the filtered sunlight through the trees.

Bill's added finishing touches to this minimal painting of a train station in Evanston. The panoramic orientation really suits the subject.

And, to while away the rest of the class, Bill experimented with this semi-abstract grouping of boxes/buildings/windows and more. The colors are glorious and the whole painting has a distinct feel.

Elaine spent most of her time on a portrait that just didn't work out. Trust us, it was bad. So she used the last bit of time opening magazines at random and illustrating objects she saw. She used a Pentel brushpen on sumi-e paper for the outlines and finished with watercolor washes. Sumi-e paper is very soft and absorbent and takes wet media in a most interesting way.

We're all about nature (when we're not all about dogs doing strange things) and Ellen is right on target with this sculpture from a meditation garden. We love the composition and how it's split both vertically and horizontally, but remains active.

Greeta is painting nature in this negative space painting. She began light washes in the background and painted additional layers around the flowers. The background and lights on the leaves are luminous.

We know you're waiting for the latest installment in Greeta's book The Houses of West Graceland. This is Lakeview High School—instantly recognizable and gorgeous.

Isa's nature painting has some new additions, too. Zoom in to see the pink dots. Yes, it's masking fluid and Isa's been experimenting with it to add birds.

Of course, if we're painting nature, Ken's painting corn. Here, he's finished his corn mosaic...

...and moving on to another. This looks like it will only be corn stalks and leaves and we love the reptilian feel of the texture and the pose of the leaf.

Here's another landscape. Madeleine's put the finishing touches on this tulip park in Amsterdam. It's exquisitely lacy and delicate.

And Madeleine's moved on to this landscape. We love the contrast between the delicately inked trestle and the soft foliage... not to mention the active angles.

Who better to document autumn in Chicago than Sara? She's a master at painting trees, especially when the colorful foliage catches her eye. Notice how she's framed the yellow leaves against the sky and the darker trees?

This  tree is near a fire station on Wilson and it's remarkable for its shape and color. Sara did this sketch, using color and angles to draw focus to her subject.

Here's the same tree, but Sara's emphasized the brilliant, blazing colors.

And here's a view out her window, where Sara can see red, yellow and green trees, as well as blue skies and brick buildings. We especially like the technique of framing the landscape through the window.

Susan's landscape is in the Canadian Rockies. On the day they toured a ranch, the ranch manager happened to be getting married. So Susan painted it! Again, notice how the wedding is framed between the pines and fence against a field of grass.

Last week, we mentioned that we have four new students this term. We're delighted to meet them—and to see their takes on our fabled exercises. Here's Cesar with the beginnings of his plaid. It's on two sheets.

Crazie did this vibrant plaid and couldn't resist adding touches of spatter. It looks like vines on a trellis, wouldn't you say?

Her color wheel is equally interesting. Instead of mixing colors (she only used the three primaries, remember) on the palette, she glazed on the paper to get these results.

Yanna's plaid is so soft and delicate....

...while her color wheel is richly saturated and vibrant.

Yi's plaid is subtle and forms a soft gridded surface.

And she's cleverly used a watered-down hue to expand her color wheel into a floral.

We're looking forward to seeing you next week. (And if I've misspelled anyone's name, we'll correct it then). Meanwhile, you still have a little time to catch the exhibitions below.

Corn and Cats.  Ken's show at Ten Cat Tavern (how appropriate!) is up. While you missed the opening reception—and it was fun—you can still drop by to see the paintings.

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     September 30–November 15 

Food.  Alan and Greeta are featured artists in a group show about Food. The show runs through January, so there's still time to catch it. If you attend, you are asked to please bring a donation of non-perishable food for neighborhood food pantries.

      Where:
      Alderman Pawar's 47th Ward Office

      4243 N  Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL

     When:
     Exhibition: September 16–January 13