February 14, 2015

Happy Valentines Day! Sorry, no candy or valentines today, but we have painted our own warm and loving valentine greetings. It's the next best thing to a bag of conversation hearts.... but easier on the waistline.

And so we begin. To quote Shakespeare, "If music be the food of love, play on...."  But no frills, pianofortes or violins here. Hector's colorful guitar is music stripped to its essence. There's rhythm in every brushstroke.

Alan uses Yupo to paint his self-portrait. And, in the tradition of many fine artists, he's hidden a message. Look at the reflection in the his sunglasses to see a secondary portrait. Yes, it's the apple of his eye. Aww, how sweet!

But lest you think he's getting too mushy, he has another "aww" painting. It's Jake, his dog.

What says "I love you" more than hearts and monkeys? (Elaine and Madeine are trying to start a new tradition.) Elaine's painting of an ancient sculpture celebrates maternal love. It's a sweet simian mother and child.

While Madeleine's capuchin monkey is all about the fun and playful aspects of the day. Don't you love that face?

Suddenly, we seem to have developed a fascination with birds lately. Mark adds a tropical bird to his snow scene.... surrealistic, but beautifully composed. In honor of the day, let's call it the "bluebird of happiness."

Mohammed goes one better, featuring two birds and a butterfly! Take note of the beautiful mottling on the butterfly wings and the bark texture.

What would Valentines day be without flowers? Sara's delicate paperwhites aren't the typical red roses, but they are exquisite.

While we're on the subject of romance, Madeleine is sketching her next painting.... a row of cottages in Costa Rica. What a lovely romantic getaway!

There's romance in the city, too. Abla is beginning to add paint to her urban snow scene. The buildings at right look wonderfully atmospheric. We're eager to see how this progresses.

Bill, too, is working on an urban landscape. We love the train and the delicate skyscrapers in the background.

Ken's skyscraper is less dreamy, but equally seasonal. There is a lighthearted, whimsical quality to this painting that makes the whole building look like shimmering stained glass.

Can a cemetery be romantic? In Greeta's hands, yes! This beautiful painting celebrates some intriguing memorials. Like the Taj Mahal, we see these as memorials to love until death.

And in case you were waiting for another one of Greeta's lovely glass paintings, we won't disappoint you! These glass baubles are as sparkly as jewels. So apropos!

The library table is back... with a vengeance! Sara brought a library book featuring the watercolors of John Singer Sargent. Best known for his beautiful oil portraits, he turned to watercolor later in life. And the results are incredible. We were awed by his paintings and his mastery of the medium. Each series was more beautiful than the last--Venice, Bedouins, Florida, landscapes, even World War I. This was truly an inspirational book.

February 7, 2015

After last Sunday's blizzard, we know you'll appreciate Sara's lovely painting of a pot of paperwhites. Besides being beautiful and delicate, it reminds you that Spring is coming, doesn't it?

Alan is drawn to spring too in his self-portrait. Notice the magnolias budding on the tree behind him? Another thing—zoom in close and notice the reflection in his sunglasses. Yes, it's Greeta! And yes, this is painted on Yupo! We're very impressed with how well he takes to this sometimes problematic paper.

Still working on Yupo, Alan uses its unique characteristics to paint a portrait of Jake, his dog. Look at the texture on that fur! Makes you want to reach out and pet him, doesn't it?

But he's not a one-support painter. Here Alan uses standard watercolor paper to paint a beautiful spring green door with a Mardi Gras wreath. Looks like we're all ready for the end of winter.

But while many of us are looking forward to spring, some of us are embracing the winter. Steve's winter scene is of a stand of snow-covered trees reflected in a creek. The quiet water, snowy banks and the hint of color in the sky remind us why we love the peace and serenity of the season.

Abla is also inspired by the beauty of snow on her neighborhood trees. Below, she's started sketching. Come back to see how this progresses.

We just can't get enough trees, can we? Ellen's young lovers are still waiting to be painted as Ellen concentrates on the beautiful fall foliage.

Bill's back with one of his favorite subjects—trees! The landscape below is in Costa Rica and includes trees, mountains and clouds in a vast panorama.

But Bill's equally good at urban landscapes, and at injecting a touch of greenery. Notice the green rooftop gardens against the concrete and glass skyscrapers in the fog. And while you're at it, enjoy the beautifully atrmospheric quality.

Ken's skyscrapers are bright and sunny... not a trace of fog here. We don't know who painted more windows, but we'd rather watch and enjoy both of these paintings than count windows!

These windows are by Madeleine and convey still another vibe. The bright windows and complementary shadows give a spiritual quality to these urban windows.

And then, Madeleine begins sketching a fun new subject. That's right! It's a capuchin monkey jumping onto a boat in Costa Rica. So cute!

With a subject as unlikely as a monkey, who would have thought we'd see two in the same class? Yet Elaine has chosen monkeys too. Hers are not real, though. It's a statue that has intrigued her for a while. No surprise, it makes us smile too.

Greeta continues with her Graceland series. No monkeys here, but plenty of trees, foliage and stone. The yellow lines are masking fluid. Keep watching and they will be removed... all in good time!

We're delighted to introduce a new and wonderful direction for Greeta. She is inspired by colored glass and has begun a series showing glass bottles, orbs and decanters, along with their equally colorful shadows. This series promises to be as breathtaking as her fruit series. We can't wait to see more. Scroll down and see some sketches from this past week alone.

We promised details on Ken's opening at Ten Cat. It was wonderful! There was quite a crowd of people from many areas of Ken's life. All of us enjoyed the paintings (arguably one of his best series yet) and the venue, not to mention the good food and drink. We caught up with friends we hadn't seen in a while, enjoyed ourselves and got home safely before the blizzard. Plus, Ken sold some paintings. All in all, a huge success! If you haven't seen the show yet, drop by Ten Cat Tavern at 3931 N. Ashland Avenue in Chicago. Or, if you can't get there, you can also visit his website.

See you next week!

January 31, 2015

Johannah Silva shares a laugh with Steve Meyer about plants and paints.

That's right! We had a guest speaker today. The ever popular Johannah Silva (above) was here from Winsor & Newton to chat about watercolor, watercolor media, and more. We saw (and smelled) a variety of paints and media and learned about pigments through history. We got some botanical  lessons, too, as we examined Rose Madder Genuine, the only "scented" watercolor in the W&N lineup. We passed a sample around trying to identify the scent. And we did! No, it wasn't rose; it was bergamot (like Earl Grey Tea). And we discovered that bergamot is a member of the monarda family (the same as bee balm). The fascinating things we learn!

As if that weren't enough, we even got some samples of artist grade watercolor and some granulating medium for the class to test drive. If you've enjoyed our adventures with gum arabic, just imagine what we do with granulating medium! Keep coming back and see.

Over and above the excitement, we found time to paint. As you might expect, we were group-thinking about flowers today. Steve brought his flower paintings from last week along to explore framing options (sorry! no photos) in a heated discussion.

Sara continues her three-step process of painting plants. Today, the subject is a paperwhite (also a beautifully scented plant!). She starts with a sketch ...

...moves to a watercolor sketch....

 ...and begins the final painting.

Ellen spent her time painting foliage, too. She uses the sponge technique to create a fall scene with all the color of the season, but muted enough to serve as a background for the forefront couple.

Another proponent of the sponge technique is Mohammed. Notice the differences in texture between the brush and sponge portions of the painting.

Alan combines a door from New Orleans and a wreath from Biloxi to celebrate Mardi Gras. But the real star of the painting is the foliage green color of the door.

Then he moves to Yupo for another southern scene. The smooth synthetic paper really makes the magnolia blossoms stand out in the foreground (and yes, those are magnolias. We are nothing if not botanically accurate!)

Still using Yupo, Alan begins a self-portrait. Notice the shiny green bits? That's masking fluid... something not often seen on Yupo.

And he finishes up his owl lineup. These cuties are painted on standard watercolor paper, though, not Yupo. It really suits the texture of the feathers, doesn't it?

Madeleine's signature line and wash style is well suited to these birds on a stark tree. The stylized foreground birds and tree are complemented perfectly by the swirling, colorful background.

Same subject matter.... different style. Abla reserves her details for the birds and flowering branches. The soft background makes for an exquisite counterpoint.

Bill's landscape is soft and watery, but has so much depth. Look at all the layers reflected in the still water.

And then, Bill moves to an urban landscape. This evocative cityscape uses soft color to depict a fog-shrouded street.

Madeleine, too, uses soft yellow and dove grey for her urban painting. We love this color combination!

Ken's buildings are in much sharper focus than Bill's or Madeleine's—and the whole feeling of the city changes.

Still in the city (Graceland cemetery, to be exact), Greeta accents softly colorful stone with crisp fall foliage.

Here, she lavishes attention on the leaves in the foreground. You can sense the feel of the dry, curled leaves—and they actually look like they are blowing across the grass.

With tomorrow's anticipated snowstorm, you knew some of us were thinking of snow. Mark's snow is on a Wyoming ski run (look at the earth and the snow shadows).

And Steve begins sketching a breathtaking snow-covered woodland. All that's here are a few pencil lines, darkened to show detail. Actually, the paper is white as the snow we are looking for.

All in all, Elaine has the right idea—it's probably a perfect day to stay indoors and snuggle up with a warm puppy.

As Johannah answers questions about masking fluid and passes out samples of W&N's fine paint (at right), we're all looking forward to seeing Ken's show at Ten Cat tavern. Join us next week for a report on Ken's opening reception. It's always a good time for all.