From there, Tony moved to another of our favorite genres, the travel landscape. This Greek countryside has sheep grazing in a valley, surrounded by cypress trees.
Madeleine's travel landscape is a little closer to home. This lovely woodland scene is in Michigan and features delicate line and soft fresh washes that proclaim "spring."
From there, Madeleine moves on to an urban travel landscape from Cuba. While the colors are soft and high key, there is a lot of complexity here.
Travel is about the people as well as the countryside and architecture. Here, Bill returns to a couple he saw on one of his trips. He only saw them from behind, framed by other people, but the body language says so much he's tried another version. We like the way the other people frame the couple and focus our attention. Also, look at the way Bill mixes colors in the clothes and backgrounds.
Bill began another version below. This time, he's chosen a vertical format and zoomed in on his subjects. The colors, while still beautiful, are much more high key here.
Sara is another example of the value of doing multiple studies. This is the final portrait of baby Nora and her uncle. It's incredible! The color choices, the graphic composition, the inspired use of shapes—all of which lead to the finely modeled face, which, in turn, links to the baby. This gem would never have been possible without the prior studies.
And now, Sara is following the same process with baby Nora and her father. After many sketches, Sara has this study. While there are many wonderful elements (the faces, the composition and the color blending), Sara is not quite ready to call this final....
...so she returned to her sketchbook to tweak a few things, like the shoulder. Such a little change, but it deepens the sense of the relationship, doesn't it?
Steve is experimenting, too. He's doing a series of face/hair studies before embarking on the next in his merman series. Takeaways from this? The sun on his face and the wet feel of the hair are successes!
Okay, we know this isn't a real person; Elaine's painting suits of armor from the Medieval room of the Art Institute of Chicago. Even the horse is wearing armor! She's also using rough paper instead of the usual cold-press. If you zoom in, you'll notice the difference in the edges.
Crazie is also trying a new paper. Here, she's discovered Yupo, our favorite plastic paper. She's noticed that some of the Yupo seems to be resisting the paint, but the paint flow on the sky is amazing!
Using more traditional watercolors and paper, Crazie paints this summery tree....
... and finishes her flower silhouetted against a strand of hair and the sky, which morphs into the sea (with koi). This uses some gouache to great effect on the blossom.
Isa has added some color and depth to her roses and is ready to add a background. Tune in next week to see what happens next as Isa is the master of the active background!
From there, Yi sketched her next painting. You may not be able to see too clearly, but this classic, but ambitious, painting will feature flowers, mountains, a figure with a parasol and more.
Ken continues his mosaic series. In this painting, he zooms in on a single tomato plant. The green sepals are in place and he's begun the petals. All of this may (or may not) be set against a blue sky. Come back and see what happens next.
Sarah's finished her bouquet from last week--and it's beautiful! We love the sophisticated colors, the
active background and the perspective.
And then, with time to spare, Sarah began this brilliant painting of flamingos. She painted with water and then dropped in some beautiful colors, letting them move and blend on the page. You can still see where the water droplets haven't completely dried. This is a lovely example of watercolor done well.
Lilith finished this single blossom today. It's so simple and delicate, yet look closely to see the skilled gradations in the petals.
With time to spare, Lilith was inspired to paint this palm tree. Can you see that vacation is on her mind? It feels warm and sunny, doesn't it?
Upcoming events and important announcements
Mark your calendars! We will be having a group show at Ten Cat! The paintings are already on display in the windows and you can stroll by and see them. But even better, why not come to the opening reception on March 10? You've heard how much fun they are, so here's your chance to join in the fun. See the postcard at the bottom for details (and some of the artists). You're invited!
Where:
Ten Cat Tavern
3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, ILTen Cat Tavern
When:
Exhibition: February 18–April 15, 2018
Reception: March 10, 2018, 4pm
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