November 15, 2014

All too soon, winter has arrived in our corner of  the world. It's cold with no prospect of a warm-up for at least a week. In fact, we're looking forward to snow tonight—at least an inch of measurable, accumulating actual snow.

We may be living in denial, but we are loath to give up painting the beauty of autumn. And it's not just one lone holdout. We seem to have gotten back into mind-meld mode; you'll see how we're painting in pairs (or trios). For instance, we are all about trees (of course! It's fall, isn't it?). Ellen starts with an entire very colorful forest.

While Alan adds a lone tree to his foreground.

Tony, too, paints a single tree, but his is a 400 year old olive tree in Greece.

Zooming in even closer, Mohammed and Abla concentrate on single branches, but they fill them with different objects. Here, Mohammed adds three colorful birds to his bare branches...

...and Abla paints lovely magnolia flowers and buds.

And just when you think you can't zoom in any closer, Hector paints a single leaf, meticulously examining every vein, setting it against an energetic background that calls to mind swirling, falling leaves.

Vivian, too, brings us colorful, swirling fall leaves. But she adds a beautifully furry squirrel, no doubt storing nuts for the winter ahead. Sigh!

And the communal thinking doesn't end there! Even when we aren't painting trees, our thoughts are still on nature. Here, Madeleine begins to describe the ocean in Turkey.

Marva begins work on an ocean, too, but hers flows under a wonderfully active sky that looks like something Van Gogh might have done.

Bill, too, paints water. However, this time, the water is in a flooded street during a flash summer storm. Still, bad weather made for a beautiful painting. Just look at the lovely reflections and intriguing point of view.

Bill's also fearlessly experimenting. Here he combines sketching, digital art and watercolor in a lovely abstract.

Ken's urban landscapes also span the gap between representational and abstract art. Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo of his finished #14 in his latest series (you'd have loved it, we assure you), but here's the beginning of #15. Of course, it's going to get a whole lot more colorful, so keep watching this space.

Mark starts with the same minimal colors to sketch a pear.

And, just to show how serious we are about color, watch here how Steve spent hours of time and pages of his sketchbook in search of the perfect shades of green....

... for a pair of bromeliads (sketch below). Feel free to refer back to the color swatches to see how Steve uses them to paint sunlit leaves and dried out ones.

Elaine, too, spent her day experimenting, but with paper, not color. The painting of Berthe Morisot (after Manet) is painted on Yupo, not paper. Yupo is a synthetic paper that takes paint very differently than paper, as you can see here.

And she's not the only one of us interested in people. Susan adds her family and friends to her paintings of Lurie Garden (this is crystal clear in real life; our photographer's skill leaves something to be desired)...

 ... and the mountainous Philippine summer capital.

Finally, we know you want one last look at John's drawing. Like Susan above, his art is all about storytelling. And here, every square inch contains a different story. Enjoy!

You're invited! As many of you know, we've been following and promoting the DePaul Community Chorus (our very own Steve is a member). They are a 150-member chorus and present three free—yes, you read that right—concerts every year. It's time for the first concert of the season, so save the date. Bring Brass II happens on Sunday, November 23 at 4pm. Besides the large chorus, there is a full brass ensemble, along with organ and percussion. This concert will be held at St. Paul's church at Orchard and Fullerton. And it is absolutely free! Click on the poster to learn more about this concert, the rest of the season and even hear selections from previous concerts.

See you next week!

November 8, 2014

It's been a somewhat confusing day today. The morning was cold and gray, turning bright and sunny for the afternoon. Meanwhile, we're bracing for a cold week ahead.... with snow! Yes, they are even using the words "polar vortex" again.

And like the winds of November, there are all kinds of themes and ideas swirling through our classroom today—but these are all good. Nothing to dread here! In fact, there's so much going on, we're going to get right to it right now....

We begin with something a little different. Today, our circle was presided over by a stained glass portrait. Beautiful, isn't it? And it had a perfect reason for being there, too. It's based on a watercolor self-portrait of Mississippi artist Walter Anderson, masterfully executed by Alan, one of our own watercolor artists. Have you noticed how we attract all kinds of different artists through the years? We've featured artists who work in acrylics, pastels, oils, even textiles—and now, glass.

As for the rest of us, we continue our fascination with autumn. Vivian is experimenting with a new set of watercolor cakes. Apparently they work just perfectly to capture this adorable red squirrel perched on a lawn among colorful autumn leaves.

Leaves were popular with many of us today. Greeta contrasts colorful leaves with cool gray stone in a cemetery...

... while Madeleine tries her hand at new techniques. She sponges the leaves and features a bloom to highlight the rise of the foreground hill.

Alan (yes, the Alan of stained glass renown) paints trees and their reflections in a Michigan lake. Having seen his glass, it's no wonder he has such a sure hand with color.

Mark, too features the colors and leaves of fall in a seasonal mashup with gym shoes and architecture. 

Hector switches to colored pencils for this study of a single fall leaf. This marks the beginning of his work with The Plan. We're always excited to see the results of The Plan; after a series of steps, the final paintings always mark a quantum leap for our artists. And Hector is already starting with a distinctive viewpoint—notice the energetic marks in all his work? So tune in to see how this comes out.

It's "study" day all around today. Having finished a major painting, Steve does thumbnail sketches of bromeliads and orchids preparatory to his next set of paintings. Way to use elements of The Plan!

And Bill continues with larger color studies of his pathway. Still using The Plan, he varies the saturation, values and hue, trying to perfectly define his intent in paint. Which is your favorite?

And here, he starts another study. This is a flooded corner in Chicago (Foster and Broadway, to be exact) during recent torrential rains. While we love the reflections and the feel of the storm, we can't wait to see where this goes after The Plan.

Our next two artists took their inspiration from Chinese brush painting. They both have elegant composition and painterly brushed leaves and branches. Abla uses complementary colors to add delicate blossoms...

... and Mohammed adds a bird with brightly contrasting plumage to his crisp branches.

Marva is also beginning a new painting today, full of color. Look at this sky! It moves like a Van Gogh, doesn't it? And we still have pounding surf to look forward to. Keep watching this space.

Speaking of pounding surf, Susan takes us below the ocean (okay, the surf probably wasn't pounding on the day she went snorkeling) to share all the lovely fish and coral she saw. Also beautiful, colorful and full of movement.

Using only the bright blue of the sky, the dusty beige of the mountains and building and the vibrant green foliage, Tony celebrates his vacation in Greece with this beautifully minimalistic cityscape. Look at the depth—incredible, isn't it?

Ken is on #14 of his building series, but he uses bright colors and a flat plane to describe his view. (By the way, neither the real buildings nor the painting have that strange curve. Must be the photographer!)

Elaine, like Tony, uses a minimal palette for her buildings. And, like many of us, she's working on quick studies. Here she finishes a study for her last large painting (strangely enough, since most of us do the study before the painting).

And she uses the same colors to describe the glaring morning sun under the train tracks in a Chicago alley.

What's with our new people lately? They are some of the quickest, most prolific artists we've seen. And they're good, too! You really need to watch them. Here's our latest, Victoria, beginning with a wonderful plaid. It actually looks like a woven plaid, doesn't it?

She moves on to a deeply saturated color wheel...

... and explores the relationships between colors, particularly complementary colors...

... culminating in the famed "paper towel" exercise.  Now that she's successfully done this one, she's on the road to becoming an old master. Great job, Victoria.

See you all next week. We'll have more great paintings, along with news about concerts and other goings-on.

November 1, 2014

What a difference a week makes! After the beautiful fall weather last week, we had a blustery, blowsery, snowy day yesterday. Mother Nature sure paid a trick on us—hail and snow for the trick-or-treaters! We felt compelled to get in as much fall color painting as we possibly could in the time left. Which means a treat for you (and a non-caloric one at that)!

We begin with Ellen's sponge painting of autumn trees. This magnificent painting captures the essence of the season and is a prime example of an artist knowing her vision best. At every stage of this painting, we told Ellen to stop lest she ruin a beautiful painting. When she had foliage stippled over masked tree trunks, we told her to stop. She ignored us, removed the masking—and she was right. Then we advised her to leave the trunks unmasked. She ignored us and started painting them blue. Right again. Zoom in and immerse yourself in the season.

Sara's painting, too, captures the colors of the season more brilliantly than the photo would show. But her cemetery setting brings this painting from a simple landscape into the realm of visual allegory.

There seems to be a shadow cast over Abla's landscape, too, but that's just the photographer! The painting itself features a softly colorful setting with lively skies and moving water. 

Alan, too cleverly uses water in his composition. By reflecting the changing trees, he doubles the color and the beauty of the season.

Bill continues the autumn trees theme, but he systematically approaches them with "the plan." Here, he's defined his intent and uses a row of urban trees to provide a sense of movement and passage, using shape and value.

Having identified what he felt worked well in the study above, he begins another painting, this time emphasizing the light and airy quality of the foliage, while keeping the sense of depth that first attracted him.

Madeleine saw the same scene (in real life), but chose to concentrate on one tree and the fallen leaves at its feet. This delicate line and wash uses color and size to guide the viewer's eye around, just like the swirl of falling leaves. (Oh, and wouldn't you love a scarf with the print on it? We all would!)

Our newest member, Victoria, does the famous color wheel, but she adds her test strokes to the color wheel itself, making for an exercise that's as festive as it is useful.

And she moves on to the next color wheel... even more useful and just as colorful.

Vivian is also tempted by the warm colors of the season, but her tablescape has become more industrial with the addition of the table rims and brackets.

Mohammed, too, is drawn to reds and oranges, but he uses them to create this delicate Asian-esque bird. Get closer to see the intricate lines, reminiscent of a fine woodcut.

Abla is also drawing inspiration from the Chinese brush painting book that John left on our last library table. She has only begun, but already the delicate bud captures the sense of the scene.

After the fiery landscape shown earlier, Alan switches to softer colors to add a gentle, opalescent touch to this painting. While it is representational, we'll let you enjoy it as a beautiful abstract before we reveal more next week.

Here's another painting that looks like a perfectly composed abstract, but is also representational. It's Tony's view of Greek scenery through dark clouds. Doesn't it have all the elegant simplicity of Georgia O'Keeffe's works on paper? 

Still in Greece, Tony is at ground level here, capturing the beauty of a Mediterranean summer.

Mark is also bidding summer a fond farewell, with this Chagall-like painting of swimmers wading into the lake.

As the season changes, our attention tends to turn indoors.... to family and friends. Greeta's sweet portrait of her grandson is a perfect example of this. We love his pensive expression; not to mention the textures of wood, fabric and hair.

Speaking of texture, Steve's merman is finished. And everywhere we look we see how a master handles texture—in the rocks, the sky, the sea and the hair, scales and skin. Even the foam where the water touches rock or the tail flicks the water. 

Susan has moved indoors, too, documenting what happens when accountants let loose and party. You can hear the music, just by looking, can't you?

Speaking of celebration, Ken has finished another of his urban landscapes. Looks like the buildings are dressed up for a dance, wouldn't you say?

Elaine, has (finally) put the last few finishing touches on her painting of a beautifully carved church facade. After a Saturday night partying hard with the accountants, the quiet serenity of this church beckons.

And, in a strangely backward process, Elaine then went back to finish the study she started of the arch over the doorway.

No artist of the day today. No library books or magazines. To be perfectly honest, we wouldn't have had the room. We were full up today, almost spilling into a second room. All in all, a lovely day to paint with a fun crowd!

See you next week!