January 18, 2014

We're back! Miss us? Well, we certainly were glad to see each other again and catch up after nearly a month apart. We have a lot to share with you, too, so stay tuned after the paintings. You'll get an invitation to Ken's opening (always fun!) and hear about Elaine T.'s son's new gallery (welcome back, Elaine!).

And so, we'll just get started, shall we? First of all, kudos to Sara. She's bravely tackling three of the hardest things possible as she starts the new year painting large portraits from life. Bravo! As for the rest of us, we're obviously tired of the snow and cold already. We're painting sunny happy memories—happy children, walks in the grass, families at a pool and summer camping. John's almost finished with his story and Ken's trying something new, too. He's painting small—and on a block of rough paper, too. And Mark's a cat convert as he sketches and paints an adorable kitten.

Isn't that cat adorable? Perfect lead in to some of the colorful abstract cat parts Ken finished while he was on break.

 

But Ken wasn't the only one busy over break. Susan returned bearing gifts for everyone. Sweet, wasn't it? She gave everyone a 2014 calendar—featuring 12 months of Pat! That's right. You'll recall Susan did 12 paintings of Pat in various outfits. Then, inspired by Pat's traveling yellow skirt, Susan added backgrounds of Pat traveling the world and turned them all into a calendar. Here, in month order, are the paintings. Watch carefully for inside jokes. January Pat poses in her skirt in front of Chicago landmarks which also bear her likeness (see the fountain and the Bean!). Look at April as Pat plays an April Fool joke on the Tower of Pisa. And don't miss Christmas in Andersonville. Tons of fun!

And wait, there's more!

Upcoming events and important announcements:

You're invited to Ken's Art Opening. That's right—Ken will be having a show at Ten Cat Tavern. It's called Sixteen Spangles and features an assortment of paintings from his most recent series. There will be an opening reception at Ten Cat on Saturday, January 24, beginning at 3pm. Join us for the party. It's well worth the trip!

Ten Cat Tavern

3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

And for those of you who can't make the opening and want to see what you're missing, click here to see what's in the show.

An artist you should know. Check out Daniel Burnett. He's a St. Louis artist whose art is mostly of three different types—graffiti, portraits of authors, and self affirming cartoon characters. Sure, we're predisposed to like him because he's Elaine T's son, but you'll like him on his own. Click on his name (above or on our sidebar roster of friends) to see more.

See you next week!