It was a perfect day for painting—warm and summery enough to make us feel mellow, but not so hot as to make us sluggish. In fact, you'll see that many of us were inspired to finish an entire painting in one session; some of us even have two paintings to show. And all of us are deeply tuned into our surroundings. Everything we painted has that undeniable Chicago touch. See if you don't agree, starting with Hector's beginner assignment. Yes, it's the cloth study, but the energetic brushwork is reminiscent of Van Gogh and makes you feel like you're at the Art Institute.
Did we mention that we felt like we were on a field trip today, with everyone finding a "buddy?" First up—our "vacation" buddies. Marva's tropical sunset and Abla's trip to Niagara Falls make us feel like we're on vacation. And Abla's grapes just shout Napa Valley.
Our next pair is notable for finishing paintings they have been laboring over for a long time—and we do mean long. Mohammed and Elaine each got an actual round of applause when they announced that they were finally done. We think you'll agree the results were worth the effort.
And the Chicago connection? It's vacation in Chicago—visiting the Shedd aquarium, frolicking in the park, and visiting the Art Institute (for the sculpture this time).
And while we're downtown in Chicago, how can we not look up and admire the magnificent architecture? Ken and Vivian's colorful urban landscapes celebrate Chicago skyscrapers.
While Vivian begins a new painting that makes us want to visit the Magritte show at the Art Institute.
And if you see a cat, can birds be far behind? Mark continues his explorations of colored pencils and watercolor pencils by adding another bird with personality. They seem to be engaged in a serious conversation...
... as do Susan's aunts, conversing in the remains of their typhoon-destroyed Philippine kitchen. Chicago, with its large Philippine population, is watching carefully as new typhoons hit the island.
John's colored pencil drawing is so full of details and story elements, it's hard to know where to begin. We had to pass this around to get a closer look. And every time we looked, we found something new and wonderful to exclaim about. Look for the pets, the statues, plants and paintings, the fairies and people. And know that no seemingly blank space will remain. John has plans for every square inch... but you'll have to come back and see how he progresses.
Artist(s) of the day. We had some engrossing books on our library table. One was about Art Deco and featured architecture, household goods, paintings and furniture. Most appropriate as we looked at Ken and Vivian's paintings. And Pat brought in a wonderful book about Frida Kahlo, filled with beautiful paintings in large color plates. We were especially intrigued by the portraits and you can probably expect to see more of those in the weeks to come.
Artists to the rescue! As faithful blog readers may know, Ken is a big fan of Winsor & Newton's gum arabic. Imagine his distress when he ran out in the middle of the week... and the art supply store was out of stock too! A panicked email ensued and two fellow artists came to the rescue. Fortunately, Ken was only gum arabic-less for a day or two; he now has two full bottles to keep him going for a while.
Speaking of art mediums, Ken was experimenting today. Bolstered by his success with gum arabic, he did a test page to explore Granulation medium, Iridescent medium and Texture medium. So far, these don't look as promising for him as the gum arabic. Right now, he says he isn't seeing distinctive enough results to justify the effort, but it's early days. Keep watching this space!
See you next week.
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