April 7, 20018

We're back from spring break and while it's beautifully clear and sunny, it's also a bit cold. Still, we know spring is right around the corner. First things first...before we see any of the art, Ken wants us to mention that he was right about something today. Specifically, the addition of blue to the painting below. Bill was in Washington DC and painted this wonderfully misty and moody view of the Washington Memorial across the reflecting pond. While we loved just about everything about this, Ken suggested adding a touch of blue to the trees to add to the aerial perspective. Bill did just that and agreed that Ken may have been right (about the touch of blue at least).

And as if that weren't enough, Isa was inspired by Ken's recent mosaic series and added this background of structured gridding to contrast with the softly organic shapes of the roses. You'll have to look closely since the background is a blue/green stripe (the colors didn't come out perfectly in the photo). The verdict? While we like the energy and movement, Isa was pretty tired of it and ready to move on to another painting.

Strangely enough, Ken said the same thing! Here is the finished tomato painting that inspired Isa...

... and the beginning of the next tomato mosaic. Ken is beginning to be bored by the background on this, but is bravely soldiering on. We like the way the flat background contrasts with the beautifully modeled foreground, and we appreciate the amount of work that goes into these intricate works. But we'll eagerly wait to see where this goes.
 

Yi finished her exquisite sunflower painting. Especially worthy of note are the way the petals and leaves are each different but everything seems to be in motion. Also, the sky background features the perfect blue gradating down to white. Doesn't this feel fresh and happy?

Sara's been fighting sinus issues, so she painted Backyard Dawn from her couch. She says she's not especially fond of the way the front trees are painted but she likes the contrast between the sky and the buildings in shadows. We do too—not to mention the way she's captured the glow of the morning sun.

Between the sketching, the evocative landscape, the markers and the color blue, Sara is hitting all our themes today. Here, she started a Baby Nora sketch and, disappointed, turned to markers to jazz it up. We love the juxtaposition of the delicacy of the sketch with the psychedelic colors and bold strokes of the markers.

Speaking of markers, Elaine decided to experiment today. This sketch was done with the Winsor & Newton Water Colour Marker sample we received from Johanna Silva about a year ago. Just the Thalo blue marker and a water brush. Elaine is still pondering the process—it's more like drawing than painting, but it's a bit of both. She's intrigued enough to play some more. And you'll be happy to know that we're refraining from making any "It's no Picasso!" comments (because it IS supposed to be Picasso...get it?).

We're all about blue today, aren't we? Madeleine sees her blue in the warm summer sky. This lovely abstract of a beach contrasts the serenity of the sand and sea with the active clouds. We are ready for a vacation! 

Another beautiful sky by Madeleine. This is from Mexico and captures all the colors of sunset and the last golden sunlight illuminating the buildings.

You'd think this was in Washington, based on the column, wouldn't you? But no—this column supports a building in Havana, Cuba. We love the composition and perspective and the way Madeleine captures the texture of the slightly dilapidated structure.

Susan's been on vacation, too, and painting travel landscapes. She's also demonstrating another of our favorite themes—sketching. Here are some pages from her sketchbook, beginning with Susan and her husband at O'Hare, ready to begin their journey.

Here is Susan's sketch of a reclining Buddha in Malaysia. Notice how she's captured all the information she needs (like the color notes)....

... as a basis for the painting she began today. She's using her sketch and her recollection of the scene to add to the background.

Want another example? Here's the sketch from Susan's sketchbook of James Bond Island in Phuket, Thailand....

... and the final painting. See how she's added bikini-clad tourists taking selfies to really personalize the painting and align it with her memories.

Not to be outdone in terms of color, our newest members are experimenting with all their new tools. Here, Mae tested her new color set with a series of swatches....

... before creating this color wheel. This is the expanded color wheel, where Mae mixes colors and takes them through tints, tones and shades.

Tal was also inspired to create and blend color swatches....

... before creating the expanded color wheel. Notice how both Tal and Mae start with the same exercise and tools and add their own touch. Fortunately, both Tal and Mae labeled their color wheels. These are remarkably useful tools for the future.

Meanwhile, if you haven't seen our exhibition at Ten Cat, it's still up! Drop by if you can.

The Ten Cat Group Watercolor Show.  We are having a group show at Ten Cat! The paintings are on display in the windows and you can stroll by and see them. See the postcard below for details.

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     Exhibition: February 18–April 15, 2018