October 6, 2018

We awoke to torrential rains today—a dangerous day for transporting watercolors! Despite that, and to compensate for the gray skies and our gray moods, we all painted happy, colorful things. And Pat had a surprise for us today. She handed out "inspiration" pictures of famous art geared to each of us. We begin with Marva, whose colorful psychedelic abstract makes us feel like singing and smiling. And she now has a handful of abstracts and landscapes to inspire her going forward.

Elaine T. added a squirrel to finish off the tree stump she started last week. Even non-squirrel fans like this! And this "realistic" painting uses a lot of color. Zoom in and see for yourself.

From there, Elaine T. began this study of a colorful, happy Chicago icon. Yes, it's the Kiddieland sign! Breathe deeply and savor the fun childhood vibes. Oh, and Pat's inspiration art for Elaine included a shark, so we know those were good choices.

Susan opted to paint a happy place, too. This Klimtian painting highlights the color and energy of Rio de Janeiro. Susan's inspiration paintings included temple paintings, story paintings and aboriginal art to get her in the mood for an upcoming vacation.

Ken has toned down the blue in his latest cat painting, leaving some color reverberations in the stripes at the top. We see a tree-like structure in this one (and some of us feel the eye looks a bit malevolent, like a snake), but we'll wait to see how it winds up. What could inspire Ken? Pat handed him some mosaic portraits, along with paintings of women with cats—what else?

Sara has been doing countless value and color studies and has gotten to this colorful version. The colors are more vibrant than they appear here and she's moving ever closer to her vision. We can't wait to see this finished. And if you've followed us for any length of time, you'll know that the inspiration paintings for Sara included lots of trees—also, interesting shapes and colors, women with books, and women with babies.

Elaine O. has added to the subjects on this painting. Can you see why she finds it so funny now? In keeping with today's theme, color is a major part of this painting. These two "sharp dressed men" are definitely having a moment here. And Elaine O's inspiration paintings leaned heavily toward portraits and value sketches.

Steve finishes up his color testing. Here, he uses secondaries and primaries to create a range of mixtures, especially noting how the cooler and warmer pigments interact.

And from there, Steve explores cool and warm colors in an attempt to create deep rich blacks and neutral grays. The greys on the left side are bluer on screen than they appear in real life, just so you know. What did Pat pick for Steve's inspiration paintings? Seascapes and figures studies, of course.

Finally, Gabby's exercise was the giant fruit. This is the very essence of pear! Enlarge this to see the layers of color she used to create form and texture. And all the little "pear dots"? They are individually painted one by one. This is truly a portrait of her pear. Is it any wonder that Pat chose some fruit and vegetable still life paintings as inspiration for Gabby?

 

There's still time to see Ken's paintings at the Ten Cat. Stroll by and see them in the windows—or go inside for beer and pool in a convivial atmosphere.

Mosaic Tomatoes.  Ken's exhibition at Ten Cat Tavern features his popular mosaic tomatoes series. Drop by to see the art.

      Where:
      Ten Cat Tavern

      3931 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL

     When:
     August 22–October 15, 2018