February 25, 2017

Did we just say Happy Spring last week? Well, you won't be surprised to learn that it was cold and snowy today. It's winter in Chicago, after all! Fortunately, we all got together to paint, solve some challenges, and have some fun. Sara finished her lovely wedding self-portrait. The faces are remarkably like the subjects and we are in love with the composition, the view through the curtains, the wedding outfits—just everything!

Elaine has added a background to the portrait she began last week but is unsure about her decision. On the one hand, it sets her subject in time; on the other, it may be a distraction from the subject. Time to put this on display and see what the painting says over the next few days.

Meanwhile, she begins another portrait. Elaine finds it easier to practice with portraits of people she doesn't know. That way, the face doesn't need to be perfect—it just needs to look like a person!

Portraits are certainly popular! Like Sara, Madeleine is painting someone she knows well, skillfully using a line and wash technique to impart a golden vacation glow. And here's an endorsement—the child's mother recognized her son immediately (and loves this).

In case you were wondering, the library above happens to be in Ireland. And so is the lovely landscape Madeleine painted below. Notice how high the horizon line is? We think it's a great choice; the water in the foreground is beautiful!

Madeleine is sketching more vacation memories below, preparatory to painting them. We love the orderly intricacy of this one....

... and the dynamic composition of this. Come back soon to see how these progress.

Yes, we love to paint our vacation memories. Steve has almost finished his painting of Venice in the morning. We love the atmosphere and sense of light he's captured, from the early morning sun in the background to the gondolas awakening in the foreground shade.

Tony is also painting a Mediterranean scene below. It's almost monochromatic, but highly detailed. And notice how he's already bringing in a touch of the complement of blue in the terra cotta pot accent.

We have a new catchphrase for the week, thanks to Ellen—just add a llama! That's right, when you don't know where to take your painting next, just add a llama. As you may recall, Ellen had previously painted a vacation memory of Machu Picchu, but was dissatisfied. Her solution? Just add a llama! However, now she's at a decision point—the llama makes it an entirely different painting. What to do? Change the color? the value? the texture? Come back and see what she decides!

Bill's painting of Bruges is also at a decision point. Everyone loves the building on the right, the soft sky, and the water. But Bill is vaguely dissatisfied with the main building to the left. Again, come back and see what happens after a few days of looking and thinking.

Closer to home is Bill's painting of the super moon over Chicago. The photo doesn't quite do it justice, but know that the sky is inkier, the moon glows and the buildings are perfectly illuminated by the lights of the city at night. It's gorgeous!

Hector continues on his series, exploring the use of wet-in-wet watercolor. Who would have thought his exploration below was based on a can of tea? Among other things, of course. We love the colors he's chosen and how he exploits the properties of water to achieve this rich, glowing painting.

And speaking about glowing things, Ken uses bright vibrant colors to achieve the effect. While this series may have been inspired by corn, it has moved to abstract shapes that glow and move and interact.

Rommel is doing one of our favorite exercises—the giant fruit—quite successfully, too. He's gotten the color and shape, not to mention the highlights!

Come join us!

Here are some ongoing exhibitions you don't want to miss.

Orange.  Bill and Madeleine are having an exhibit at Orange. Bill has watercolors; Madeleine has oils. Drop by for some food and some art, but hurry—February is ending soon!

      Where:
      Orange

      2431 N. Clark (north of Fullerton)
      Chicago, IL

     When:
     Ongoing through the end of February

 
The Corn Exhibit.  Ken will be having a show at Ten Cat. Drop by to see the art...and maybe play some pool. 

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     January 22–March 15, 2017

DePaul Community Chorus
Here's a chance to hear Steve and the DePaul Community Chorus—FREE! The theme will be music celebrating the Protestant Reformation. Click the thumbnail at right for more information and watch for fundraising news—the concert is free, but the Chorus has to pay the orchestra!

     Where:
     DePaul Concert Hall
     800 West Belden, Chicago, IL

     When:
     Sunday, March 19, 3pm

12 Notes/12 Artists
Erika is part of a group show where 12 artists paint their visual response to music. Click the thumbnail at right for more information.

     Where:
     Perkolator
     6032 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL

     When:
     February 9–March 27

See you next week!

February 18, 2017

Happy Spring! Okay, maybe not by the calendar, but if you looked out the window today, you'd be excused for thinking Spring had arrived. We missed a few artists today—for some it was the weather, for others, an early start to a long weekend. But those of us who showed up had a wonderful time and painted some fun (and ambitious) paintings. Here, for instance, Elaine added the final touches to her painting. You have to love kids with 3D glasses!

And then, Elaine painted this.... all in one session, too! It was inspired by a small black and white photo she came across in a magazine. The woman's face intrigued her and so did the story. Now, she's planning to hit the library to learn more. This is Dorothy Day, by the way, if you want to look her up. 

 

Sara is also tackling portraiture... a notoriously ambitious genre. Especially if you know the people you are painting well. She's fine tuned the background of this sweet wedding portrait. Now, all that's left is to add the faces. Tune in next week to see those!

Ellen  has finished a portrait of a different kind. This is a family portrait of an elephant family, also taken from a small black and white image. She's only used two colors (complementary colors, of course!) and used the spatter technique to great effect. You can just see the dust raised as the elephants thunder towards you.

Ellen's still using a minimal palette to paint this stunning travel photo of Machu Picchu. She's included the road and the village below the peak, but reduced their intensity to draw focus to her subject.

Steve is also painting travel memories. This painting contrasts the gondolas in the foreground with the city buildings in the background, using complementary colors and value.  You can just feel Venice awakening on a summer morning.

Tony's Mediterranean scene is all blue and white, but with a variety of blues. Already you can see the clear turquoise sky and the brightly painted blue balconies. Keep watching this one.... it's going to be lovely.

Oh, and just so you know, Tony hasn't used a touch of pencil on this, using paint to do the preliminary drawing. Here's proof.... it's a photo of the early shapes blocked in.

Ken is getting through winter by painting summer produce.... specifically Corn. Here's the latest in his second Corn series. This is based on a very pale, monochromatic photo, but Ken has added his bright signature colors.

 

You'll see the same colors and stripes in Ken's previous painting. While these are the most abstracted versions of corn he's done, you still get a feel from the shapes and pattern that this is definitely corn.

Hector is also into abstraction.  Inspired by the weather and the colors on his palette, he painted this flower. We're especially impressed by the sense of movement....

... which loses nothing by being turned upside down. The sense of movement remains but now it looks like a flamenco dancer.

 Speaking of movement, look at the sense of movement in Rommel's exercise pages. He's managed to "match the color" perfectly, but also made each example a thing of beauty.

The "match your skin" and "match a paper towel" are two of the most difficult, but Rommel makes it look easy. And he makes it interesting, adding figures, chevrons and symbols to keep our eyes moving.

Finally, in the "three-way fruit," Rommel chose a banana and painted in in three different styles—(left to right) wet, dry and a combination. We admire the control he's achieved on the wet painting and the degree of dryness.

Come join us!

Here are some ongoing exhibitions you don't want to miss. And mark your calendar for February 25. St. Gregory the Great Church is having its quarterly "Open Sketch." You're invited—so bring a pencil and paper and join us.

 

Open Sketch date
It's an open sketching/photography session at St. Gregory the Great Church and we are invited! Bring your cameras, sketch pads, pens and pencils. A docent will also be on hand to answer questions.

     Where:
     St. Gregory the Great Church
     5545 N. Paulina
     Church entrance is on the corner of Gregory and Paulina;
     one block west of Ashland and one block south of Bryn Mawr

     When:
     Saturday, February 25
     12:00–3:00pm

  

Orange.  Bill and Madeleine are having an exhibit at Orange. Bill has watercolors; Madeleine has oils. Drop by for some food and some art.

      Where:
      Orange

      2431 N. Clark (north of Fullerton)
      Chicago, IL

     When:
     Ongoing through the end of February

 
The Corn Exhibit.  Ken will be having a show at Ten Cat. Drop by to see the art...and maybe play some pool. 

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     January 22–March 15, 2017

12 Notes/12 Artists
Erika is part of a group show where 12 artists paint their visual response to music. Click the thumbnail at left for more information.

     Where:
     Perkolator
     6032 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL

     When:
     February 9–March 27

See you next week!

February 11, 2017

Happy Valentines Day! Yes, we know we're a little late, but seriously, what better way to spend the day than looking at lovely watercolors and marking your calendar for all the upcoming events you're invited to? Okay, we'll make it quick—we'll view our paintings alphabetically so we can get to the events and then  back to your champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries!

We begin with Bill's romantic super moon...

... before moving to Bill's abstractions in black and white....

 ...and beautifully subtle primaries.

Ellen has finished her lovely elephant family. And yes, she's still using only two colors.

Moving along to a landscape, Ellen continues her masterful color blending.

Hector is also painting a landscape, but concentrating on a single tree. He's also using a limited palette and focusing on energetic brushwork.

Ken's corn painting may look monochromatic, but there are worlds of colors in those greens. Look closely and see.

Madeleine adds some finishing touches to define the subject's eyes squinting against the sun.

And then, she moves on to add pen and ink to her painting of her grandson.... enjoying some books on vacation.

Rommel is still intrigued by complementary colors, as you can see here. This is one exercise sheet that will prove invaluable in the future!

Sara is tackling that most difficult of subjects.... the portrait. And since her subjects are familiar, she is doing quick studies of the faces here...

 ... and here. Look at how natural the faces look. And then look at the colors she's used to achieve it.

Here is Sara's final painting. No wonder she wants to get the faces perfect. Not only is it a wedding self-portrait, but the rest of the painting is already beautifully romantic.

What's more romantic than a gondola ride in Venice? Steve has added the gondolas in the foreground, contrasting with the misty morning light in the sky.

Tony's distinctive palette leaves no doubt as to who painted this picturesque Greek church.

Vivianne is also exploring complementary colors and we love them! Look closely as she combines rich deep reds and greens before moving to the blue/orange and yellow/violet pairs. So many lovely colors!

It's our favorite exercise.... the paper towel and skin. Vivianne has some wonderful swatches here—and once you've mastered this exercise, it's a piece of cake!

Vivianne does one final exploration of complementary colors. Notice the pairs? Yet, notice how she uses hard architectural forms to contrast with the soft, delicate colors.

Come join us!

Here are some ongoing exhibitions you don't want to miss. And mark your calendar for February 25. St. Gregory the Great Church is having its quarterly "Open Sketch." You're invited—so bring a pencil and paper and join us.

The Corn Exhibit.  Ken will be having a show at Ten Cat. Drop by to see the art...and maybe play some pool. 

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     January 22–March 15, 2017
  

Orange.  Bill and Madeleine are having an exhibit at Orange. Bill has watercolors; Madeleine has oils. Drop by for some food and some art.

      Where:
      Orange

      2431 N. Clark (north of Fullerton)
      Chicago, IL

     When:
     Ongoing through the end of February
 

Open Sketch date
It's an open sketching/photography session at St. Gregory the Great Church and we are invited! Bring your cameras, sketch pads, pens and pencils. A docent will also be on hand to answer questions.

     Where:
     St. Gregory the Great Church
     5545 N. Paulina
     Church entrance is on the corner of Gregory and Paulina;
     one block west of Ashland and one block south of Bryn Mawr

     When:
     Saturday, February 25
     12:00–3:00pm

 

12 Notes/12 Artists
Erika is part of a group show where 12 artists paint their visual response to music. Click the thumbnail at left for more information.

     Where:
     Perkolator
     6032 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL

     When:
     February 9–March 27

See you next week!