September 28, 2013

So, Pat brought in a catalog from her ARC show today. She also brought in a catalog from another show that she called  the "most beautiful ever." Of course, we had to look—and she was probably right! It was a show called Kimono As Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota and it was truly incredible! He had a series of landscapes dyed and stitched onto 8' high kimono. They filled a room, scrolled through 4 seasons and were positively luminous.

They inspired us all—in terms of color and subject matter. Just scroll through and you'll see what we mean. You'll notice we are on a tree kick today, starting with Gary's amazing birches, Steve's tropical treescape, Alan's sun-drenched hickories and David's dancing trees (which are evocative of the portrait of Pat in her colorful art dress).  More wonderfully colored and exquisitely layered landscapes follow (Mark went deep and rich while Marva's new pallette continues to sparkle), leading up to richly colored portraits and drawings.

The surprise of the day? The fruit portraits belong to Sara, not Greeta. Sara (who is known for her mastery of trees) is now doing fruit! And Greeta, (master of the fruit portrait) was out with the flu. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

Art medium of the day: It's still texture medium, but now David's on board. In his hands, it creates a look similar to a lovely, swirly marble. Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo, but we'll definitely be showing you more next week.

 

 Intrigued by the reference to the catalog from Pat's show? Did you miss the opening on Friday? There's still time to see the show (in fact, you'll probably get a better view without the crowds). Here's the information below—and you'll recognize Pat's dress by the painting.

Pat's Art Exhibition. Visit ARC Gallery's 40th Anniversary Members Exhibition, featuring work by our very own Pat Otto. The show runs from Sept. 25 thru Oct.19 (click here for more information):

ARC Gallery
2156 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
www.arcgallery.org

 

 

September 21, 2013

Lots of things in store for you today—the first report on Winsor & Newton's texture medium, another unplanned painting theme, an invitation to an art opening, more fine paintings and a guest.  It felt a little like the old Johnny Carson show as we had a surprise guest drop in on us today for Showtime. It was Connie from our drawing and painting past—bearing art, no less! You can scroll through and see her icon at the end of our painting roll. It looked incredible with the sun shining through the canvas.

As for the theme, you'll probably be able to spot it yourself—duos. No, you're not seeing double. We have two millwheels, two tomatoes, two landscapes, two treescapes, two fantasy illustrations, two little girls, two portraits and two icons. Sure, some are studies and the two tomatoes are really the same tomato a week apart, but you get the idea. Enjoy—and keep on for our art note of the week and an invitation to a bona fide art opening!

Art medium of the week—It's texture medium from Winsor & Newton and Elaine wins the prize for being the first to test it out. What's her take? Well, it didn't work exactly as she expected it to. But that's why we experiment, isn't it? You can follow along on the Buddha's stone halo (two paintings up). Elaine thought a little texture might be good, so she laid down a wash of pure medium atop some already painted washes. Then, she added even more paint. As you can see, it's subtle.

Now, for some reason, Elaine thought the texture would occur in the center of the wash; instead the medium affected the edges of the brushstrokes. The medium was a little thick and viscous; you really noticed the marks your brush made and how it pushed the paint on the paper. It also slowed drying time. All in all, similar to gum arabic, but different—not shiny and the brushstrokes blended more when they dried. Again, worth another look!

You're invited to Pat's Art Opening. Join us for the opening reception of ARC Gallery's 40th Anniversary Members Exhibition, featuring work by our very own Pat Otto. We saw her wearing her art today; now you can see it, too. The show runs from Sept. 25 thru Oct.19 (click here for more information), and we'd love to see you at the gala opening reception:

Friday September 27
6pm–9 pm.
ARC Gallery
2156 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
www.arcgallery.org

Out of the Darkness Community Walk. It's not too late to support Steve as he walks to support the work fo the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This year, the walk is in October, so you have another month to donate to this important cause. Just click here: Support Steve!

See you next week and until then, happy painting!

September 14, 2014

No video today, but there's so much else going on, you won't even miss it!

Johannah Silva demonstrating some of Winsor & Newton's fine watercolors, brushes and media. Who knew learning could be so colorful and fun?

To start, our friend Johannah Silva (above) from Winsor & Newton dropped by for a lecture/demonstration of watercolor, its history and supplies—with a special emphasis on watercolor brushes and papers. We learned about paper weights, sizes and finishes and about different kinds of brush hairs. We saw natural hair, synthetic and blended brushes and how they handled paint and water.

We even had the chance to test-drive some brushes, including the world's finest brush—the Winsor & Newton No. 7 series. We were a little nervous to even touch it (considering that the brush sells for around $200, wouldn't you be too?), but what an experience! And when we heard what goes into making this brush, the cost seems quite reasonable.

As if that weren't enough, Johannah left us with samples of artist grade watercolor and texture medium. If you think we had fun with gum arabic over the past year, tune in and see what we do with the texture medium!

But we also got some painting in. Today's inadvertent theme—things that weren't what they seemed to be. From Sara's "flower" that was really an heirloom tomato, to Marva's "sleeping dog" that was actually a Fiji waterfall, you really have to look carefully to see what's happening. That's right, Alan's "modern Southern woman" is a dressmaker's form draped in fabrics. And David's leaping corn prompted so many stories, we'll just let you find your own. Enjoy....

,,,and keep reading for more news about what's happening in our lives, including an art opening invitation for Pat, our teacher.

Pat's Art Opening. Join us for the opening reception of ARC Gallery's 40th Anniversary Members Exhibition, featuring work by our own Pat Otto. The show runs from Sept. 25 thru Oct.19 (click here for more information), but we'd love to see you at the gala opening reception:

Friday September 27
6pm–9 pm.
ARC Gallery
2156 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
www.arcgallery.org

Out of the Darkness Community Walk. It's not too late to help Steve as he walks to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. If you can't walk, consider a donation to this important cause. Just click here: Support Steve!

Art challenges. I knew we promised to discuss these fully, but we simply ran out of time. One of the challenges was to "notice" something every day. Ideally, we'd then document it, either with a painting, photo, written note or even a mental note. And while some of us (Susan) took up brushes and paint to sketch what we noticed, most of us just walked around "noticing" things.

See you next week. Meanwhile, if you see someone intensely noticing the world around him/her this week, it's probably one of us.