April 27, 2019

Okay, it's almost May—and it's snowing! Can you believe it? No wonder we all painted soft, sweet, seasonal subjects. For instance, Elaine T. finished her memorial portrait of Toby, a friend's beloved pet. Doesn't he look happy, basking in the summer sun?

With minutes to go, Elaine T. documented a typical Saturday morning with us. Yes, that's Ken, Steve and Elaine O. hard at work painting. And outside the window? That white stuff is snow...either that, or she didn't finish due to time limits. At any rate, this quick, fun sketch captures the essence of Elaine T.'s Saturday morning.

Just to prove that it wasn't a total blizzard, we bring you Richard's series. He's been standing at the window, painting the scenery across the street. Last week, the sun was bright, casting crisp shadows....

... while this week, the grey skies give the scene a flat appearance. As part of his progression, Richard has moved to full color. We can't wait to see his final take on this urban landscape.

In the spirit of spring, Elle moves along with her portrait of her granddaughter. The soft, delicate colors and brushwork manage to convey the sweet innocence of the child, while capturing her personality.

Ken's finished another portrait. Based on a Julia Cameron photograph, he uses mosaic tiles to model his subject. We love the way he uses different tile styles for each different element, and we admire how skillfully he's interpreted the woman.

Moving right along, Ken spent most of his morning working on a study for his next painting in the series. It's also a Julia Cameron woman, and he's also using the mosaic technique, but he's experimenting with circular tiles. He's trying to decide if it makes her look feminine or scaly. Come back and see for yourself.

Speaking of series, remember Sara's series of portraits from paintings? Specifically, on March 23, when she painted Henry VIII? Well, Sara's contribution for the day is this photo of her buddy, seen in Madrid at the Thyssen. That's right, Sara is in Spain, having a wonderful time at her third art museum in 4 days, with more to come. 

Steve's revisiting an old painting, too. It's two figures on a beach, closely cropped so they seem almost like a landscape. While clearing a closet, he came upon his original painting and thought, "I can do that so much better now!" So he's having another go, starting with a drawing...

As for Susan, she's still documenting her seasonal meals. Here's Easter breakfast... honeydew melon, green tea, toast and a double-yoked egg. We especially like the composition with the woven palm from Palm Sunday arched across the top of the place setting.

Elaine O. is still exploring her petunias. She did two small line and wash studies, one with a finely inked line and delicate washes.....

...and one with more vibrant colors and darker, more distinct brushwork. While she likes the soft, watercolor feel of the first study, she thinks the petunia below most closely resembles her actual subjects. Now if only spring arrives so she can plant this year's crop!

Upcoming events

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and our own Susan Silvano is having an exhibit at one of the Chicago Public Library Branches. The exhibit runs throughout May, so drop by if you can.

     Where:
     Martin Luther King Jr. Library
     3436  S. King Drive
     Chicago, IL 60616

     When:
    May 1-31, 2019

April 13, 2019

We're done with our weather reports. Every time we make a joyous "welcome spring" announcement, it seems we get a bomb cyclone or a snowstorm warning. So we're done tempting fate... at least until May. Instead, we turn to Lent for our seasonal mention. Susan is painting her Friday Lenten seafood feast. Look at the bounty of the sea laid out below—crab, calimari, shrimp—set off by a mound of fried rice, salad and tater tots. We were hungry just looking at this.

Like Susan, Elaine O. is thinking seasonally and has finished her floral painting. As with her snow series, though, Elaine O. isn't as comfortable with flowers as she'd like to be. While she's happy with some of the elements below (like the color and composition), she's hoping to capture more of the soft, ephemeral feel of flower petals....

... so, like most of us, she turns to her sketchbook to do some studies. This is the beginning of a line/wash sketch of the same petunias seen above.

And here's a sketch using water-soluble fountain pen ink. Elaine O. then used a water brush on the line drawing to draw out some of the ink, adding value. Did we mention that the original inspiration for these paintings are Elaine O's own petunias? Keep watching this space to see if she learns to paint them as well as she can grow them.

Sara is still the master of the sketchbook/study. She continues her portrait series based on old (Renaissance?) paintings. Here is a sketch/direct watercolor of a detail from a painting called The Fortuneteller. Don't you love the expression on her face?

The same for this guy. Sara chose him for the angle of his head, but there's much more to love.... like the jaunty, colorful cap and the thoughtful look in his eyes.

We had to show you this! Sara painted both of the direct watercolors on the same page, side-by-side. She covered one with paper while she painted the other to avoid distraction. After removing the paper, don't you think these go together perfectly? The colors coordinate well and they seem to be interacting with each other. There's a story here!

Ken's portrait also has classical overtones. This is based on a photo by Julia Cameron of a woman dressed in classical garb—and it's done in mosaic style. We love the way the different elements have their own appropriate mosaic style. Ken likes the eyes but isn't quite sure about the mouth yet. We think he's wrong and the mouth looks great.

Elle's painting is a stellar example of another of our favorite genres—the grandchild portrait. She's toned down the background to bring the focus to the girl's adorable face and sweet expression. And don't you love her hair?

Elle has more than one grandchild! She's begun a portrait of the sister of the girl above. Even though she hasn't gotten very far, we can already see the personality of the sitter. This is going to be good, so be sure to come back to see how it turns out.

Grandchildren don't have exclusive rights to "adorableness", as Elaine T. demonstrates below. This is a pet memorial for a friend who lost her dog, below, about the same time as Elaine T. lost hers. This is another beautiful and sensitive painting. It's clearly the portrait of a specific and well-loved dog.

Richard is in good company doing series. He's using only one color of paint (black) and white butcher paper to paint a courtyard building across the street from our studio window. Yes, it's the same subject as last week, but he's adding more detail with each iteration, as you can see.  

By restricting his use of color, Richard is focusing more on brushwork and getting some great results.  Doesn't this look like sumi-e painting?

Here, Richard's added a very subtle touch of color (the pinkish hue on the vertical columns) but the emphasis is still on the brushwork and values. Notice how, with each iteration, Richard becomes comfortable with previous problems like perspective and adds a new challenge.

We'll be off next week, but come back on April 27 to see more of our favorite people, places and things memorialized in watercolor.

April 6, 2019

Happy Spring! As you can see, we're all feeling the spring vibe. Isa is painting flowers. She's added violet to the blue orchids to give them form. She's also using a new tool, a sponge, to add texture to the background. Look closely at that background and how the sponged sienna complements the light blue beneath. Don't you love complementary colors?

Still in the floral mood, Isa began work on another flower. This time, she's fascinated by one of our favorite colors. Yes, that's Opera! It'll be interesting to see what she does with this, since Isa has such a sophisticated color sense. Come back and see!

Elaine O. is out of her comfort zone. She's also painting flowers and using a touch of opera—neither of which are things she's known for! She says she may have to do this again to get the feeling she's after, but we're intrigued how this features all the stages of the petunia, from opening bud, to partially open, fully unfurled and ready to deadhead.

Elaine T. is also into nature. She's painting some of her favorite trees from Kohler Andrae Park while she eagerly awaits the chance to visit them in person. Seriously, look at how each tree is unique and carefully observed. These are truly tree portraits.

Here's Farley of the Woods in all his canine glory. Farley is Elaine T.'s faithful camping companion. Look at the expression on his face. He's happy, in control and in his element. We also applaud Elaine T.'s decision to paint Farley as a vignette instead of including a full background.

Elle's granddaughter is coming right along. Right now, Elle is working on modeling the face and hand, but already we can see character and personality—the marks of a successful portrait.

Sara has returned to the triple portrait that sparked her recent portrait series. This is a hard one. Not only is it a triple portrait with all three sitters on different planes with different lighting, but Sara knows all of them. All that portrait work has made a difference. Here is a quick study...

...and another one. We are impressed with Sara's use of color and highlight to create the facial structure and express the sitters' personality.

Portraits are the theme of the day! Ken finished this painting of a woman featured in Julia Cameron's photography book...

...and began to lay out this one. It's a portrait from the same book, but Ken is using his mosaic technique to paint her. Already, it has the feeling of old Roman mosaics (and a bit of the old Illustrator splash screens). Come back next week to see how this progresses.

Ever the rebel, Steve (who normally paints people) finished his architectural painting. It's amazing how much texture and detail he's managed to include with a monochrome subject, flatly lit on a grey day.

Tony's architectural subject is a little closer to home. This is the Wilson "L" station. Again, it's worth a closer look to see all the detail and to enjoy the way Tony has caught the feel of the light (isn't that shadow great?).

More places! Susan is painting a New Zealand Harbor, full of Kiwis enjoying water sports. We love the soft, watery colors she's used, giving the scene a sunny sparkle as well as the sense of water. 

Speaking of sailing ships on the high seas, Emilia finished painting the ship she had only sketched out last week. We're fascinated at how different a feeling this has from Susan's. Yet both convey their subjects (and the water) very well. Look at Emilia's reflections on the water!

In a different vein, Emilia bought a new blue art tool and drew Pegasus on black paper. This is marker and gel pen; the black paper really gives the lines a graphic quality.

Are you seeing a theme here? It seems Emilia, like Picasso, is entering a "blue" period. This is the beginning of her newest painting of a turtle. She's eschewing the typical greens for soft, watery blues and purples. Come back next week to see how this comes out!

Richard finished his cloth study with fruit. He especially noted that the background makes quite a difference to the painting. We agree. This is Richard's "graduation" painting and it's quite an ambitious one—with the folds, color mixing and composition.  Congratulations!

What's next for a newly advanced "old master"? Richard is doing urban sketches from out the window. He's emphasizing brushwork while he explores perspective.

Here are the perspective lines of a courtyard building across the street...

... and the same building again. Isn't the quality of the brush stroke lovely? It's like sumi-e work.

Once again, with more detail. Escpecially cool is that all of these were done on one long sheet of paper, like a scroll. It really adds to the viewing experience.

See you next week!