Can you believe we're nearing the end of June already? Summer seems to be the ideal season for watercolor and we're making the most of it—at least when we're not vacationing. Summer is also the time for summer reading and, appropriately enough, our library table is back. Scroll through the paintings to see who made the table this week.
We begin, though, with what we feel is the most difficult genre—the portrait. Although you'd never know it by the results we've achieved. First up is one of our newly advanced "old masters." Glen paints this incredibly moody and evocative portrait... from a tv screen capture, no less. That's skill! Notice how he's managed to direct the focus? And how well he handles shadows? Lovely!
Sara's self-portrait is equally skillful. She uses color to set a pensive mood here. Despite a soft and minimal palette, she's created a real person. Don't you want to know what she's thinking about?
Same subject, same pose, but what a difference the palette makes. Here, the colors are warm and sunny, and Sara uses temperature to create contrast. This is a perfect example of why artists paint in series. Monet had his haystacks... Sara has her annual selfie (in paint).
Mark, the master of the mash-up, manages to combine a self-portrait with a portrait. The hockey stick represents him (part of his self-portrait through objects series) and frames a portrait of Ken at Tuesday's Cubs game. Notice the ballpark background? And the delicately painted bear cub? We can't decide if it's going in for a kiss or a kill. Finally, of course, there is a topical reference to the Stanley Cup. Go Hawks!
Elaine expands her portrait to include two people (and a car). In this sweetly nostalgic painting, she keeps colors, brushstrokes and detail to the bare minimum. As a result, the subjects become iconic. They are more than her parents, they are every young couple from that era.
Like Elaine, Susan's couple transcends the specific (herself and her husband) to become everyman. The elegant couple is attending a gala ball that includes dignitaries and beauty queens. And decorating the front of the stage is deadly nightshade. No, it's not a commentary on the proceedings; it's just a lovely volunteer flower Susan picked up to paint. We just learned the name from Steve.
Flowers seem to be another of our themes. Isaac's tulips are a beautiful combination of animation and solidity. The background appears to be in motion and provides a perfect framework for the strong and sturdy flowers. Isaac's style is reminiscent of Diego Rivera, with the same flatly painted objects appearing so solidly 3D.
Abla also bravely tackles an entire landscape, even adding water! This fountain is in the Detroit Zoo and features all of our most popular themes—landscapes, plants, people (see the people lining the rail at the fountain edge?), animals and man-made structures. And she's handled all of them successfully with a limited palette.
Madeleine finished her urban landscape below. Like Abla, she features water in the foreground, except her water has the murky sheen of a European canal. We love the skilled textures. And she's also tapped into our class love of experimentation, using Gum Arabic to make the water feel so shimmery and wet. It worked!
Madeleine then moved to a Costa Rican cloudscape. In contrast to the precise stones, bricks and tiles of the city, these clouds and mountains are soft and delicate. Zoom in and see how gently modeled the clouds are!
Another cloudscape, but Bill's is animated and energetic. He's carefully flattened the skyscrapers to allow us to focus on the real star of the show—the billowy clouds moving across the sky.
And in a change of pace from all the movement, Bill painted a still life. The highlights on the bottles really define the shiny glass and the shadow adds depth and mystery.
Steve's urban landscape is in Montevideo, Uruguay. The colors, clouds and shadows give a real sense of place and movement, don't they? And look at the little bit of sunlight spilling through the gap in the awnings. That exquisite touch defines the whole shadow.
John is also into warm and sunny cityscapes. Of course, his no longer exists, but you'd never know it from the drawing. John's deep research and detailed drawing take us right to this temple.
Ken is also into cityscapes... and research. Here's the back door to the Ten Cat, looking through the window from the beer garden. Like the rest of the series, the color and pattern make our eyes linger on the wood and brick. And did you notice the doorknob? That's right! Ken couldn't resist making it look like a cat!
...leading us to another of our themes—cats! We love Mohammed's kitten and we love the setting he's added this week. Mohammed is using his favorite technique, spongepainting, and he does it very well indeed. In his hands, the technique adds sparkle and movement, but doesn't detract from the subject.
Isaac is also painting a cat, but his is much larger and fiercer. Look at those eyes, and the fur! Not to mention the way he's softly vignetted the edges.
Underlying all the art above is skilled color mixing. And Spring's color wheel is no exception. She's nailed the blending, hues, tones, tints and shades—and she's managed to make it look like a hot air balloon in the process!
Spring goes on to explore complementary colors. Just look at the delicate swatches below, and how she creates beautiful neutrals from just two colors.
Artist of the day. As we mentioned, the library table is back! We had three books today, all inspired by work we've done. Ken brought in a book about Diego Rivera, inspired by Isaac's style. Hector's studies in perspective reminded us of Escher, and there was a book on stage scenery by famous artists. John's temple would fit right in.
More news. Steve's concert was a huge success last week. And save the date for Delores' upcoming show. She'll be exhibiting in the Gallery at Unity Church through the month of July. Delores will be there on Sunday 7/14 and 7/21 from 10am–1pm. The show is open during church hours. If you want to go at any other time, make an appt. with Jay at 773-973-0007. Call Delores, too (773-338-3070) and she'll try to be there. The church is located at 1925 W. Thome (off Ridge Avenue and a block south of Devon).
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