Here, Ken's taken a step back to do a study of a budding tomato blossom. We bet you thought it was corn, didn't you? Nope, it's a tomato blossom that will be part of his next tomato painting. Come back to see more.
Then, there were some truly magnificent skies. Bill painted this scene of a rusting boat on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. While the boat may have caught his eye, we are entranced by the lovely sky. It's full of motion and color and weight—just what a sky feels like.
Madeleine was also attracted to a derelict building in Cuba. We love the vantage point, the texture, and especially the glimpse of sky between the crumbling wall and the beam.
Yi's focal point is also the sky. The brilliant sunset deserves a close-up look. And the beautiful big sky is a perfect counterpoint to the mountain and trees below.
Sara is also painting mountains. Like Yi, she's reducing the mountains (the Grand Tetons, in this case) to a small card-sized painting. Notice how she begins with value sketches, then adds color...
... in several incarnations, before she switches to a landscape view. In all of these, we love the way Sara carves the mountains using just a few colors and well-placed strokes. She's used the same economy of color and brushwork to describe the aspen trees.
Steve was almost a theme of the day himself—we asked for help and consultation with all of the botanicals above, along with some plants you haven't even seen. Still, he chose to focus on water as his natural element. The yellow is masking fluid, used to reserve whites. It will come off next week. Meanwhile, we can't praise his water enough. We love the curl of the wave, the sun shining through it and the colors and depth.
We noticed Susan's sketchbook last week. This week, she's added color to the sketch of hungry travelers. But she's also added a frame, placing both diners in a Chinese restaurant. Notice how the flat framing contrasts with the dimensional diners.
Elaine's been experimenting with watercolor pencils again. This is a portrait using basically two colors (and a lot of water). We discussed watercolor pencils and how best to use them. The jury is out but we continue to be attracted to them, so watch for more to pop up now and again. By the way, this soft portrait is of Pauli Murray, a brilliant priest, writer, activist and lawyer well worth looking up.
Tal did the color matching homework, but took it to new heights. This is the Chicago skyline, painted from Montrose beach. The buildings are the assignment, but we are even more attracted to the colors in the water and sky.
You'll probably recognize this as the complementary color exercise. Again, Tal has gone above and beyond the task. And he had a little extra time, so he added the exercise at the bottom right. Look closely. It's a picture from a magazine in the center and he's expanded it with paint, matching colors and scenery.
Save the Dates!
It's time for Open Sketch at St. Gregory Church—and our group show is still up at Ten Cat. We hope to see you at one of these.
You're invited.... Open Sketch date It's an open sketching/photography session on Saturday, April 21 from 12:00–3:00pm at St. Gregory the Great Church and you 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, April 21
12:00–3:00pm
Where:
Ten Cat Tavern
3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, ILTen Cat Tavern
When:
Exhibition: February 18–April 15, 2018
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