Pears, people and a glass of wine….

 These pears look pretty good. The bowl and shadows, not great, but this paper won’t take any more paint.

This is close to being done. The towels need a little work and maybe the skin tones. And the water…and the sky…

 Cheers! 

Alan Fall 3-2026

This is a technique involving putting a thin layer of crackle paste on a canvas board, waiting for it to dry, and then applying watercolor on top of that. The first one is just that. I also painted the garlic bulbs with a thicker layer of paste, waited for it to dry, and then painted on top of that. I thought that gave it deeper dimension. I learned a lot on this first attempt and will try some more. 

I really like this alley painting. I put in the small movement of red moving up through the center of it. I was going to put more wires in it but decided that it wouldn’t add anything. 

Remember me?

Here are 3 5x7's.  Hard to keep track of them.  They are a lot of fun and I don't run out of ideas before I run out of paper.  On the other hand they are small and bigger is better.

Curious fellow

I think you guys might be right about the stems.

November 7, 2026 — Elaine O.

This gives me a peaceful, happy feeling, so I'm calling it a success...and finished. I kept going back to add a touch here and there, but I'm going to stop now. I'd rather live in this calm, relaxing moment than to fret about the tiny bits that aren't perfect.

10" x 14"

Comillas, Cantabria

Clock Tower - drawn on location

Alan. Fall 2. 2026

 I think I’m done with this 8 1/2 X 11 painting of our backyard at night done on rough watercolor paper. 

Started on this view of a back alley behind Illinois Masonic Hospital. A lot of transformers, cables, and other lines and equipment. I’ll try to do this one in kind of a loose manner. I’m think I have a good first layer so we’ll see if I can maintain the looseness. 

Jarvis beach

End of the Hot Press Book and Sara Was Right Again

 Looking out the window at the cottage. That yellowish stuff represents the curtains  If done again, I’d omit them  

Sara said put a blue wash on background buildings…. No good and too distracting…now Mars pops. Flowers in a bag ho hum. 

Greco-Roman church, Aiud, Romania - on hot pressed paper (I ran out of cold pressed 😔)

St Ita at Dawn, on Broadway - embracing the dark side

Pears and people…

Here are the pears. The top one is done. I like those rough outlines around the pears. This one might go in my kitchen pear gallery…the second one still a WIP. Not sure why I chose this composition…

Still working on these two. They need to be darker as they’re in the shade. I need more contrast between them and the very sunny day.

I didn’t realize I had done them twice before. But it’s a good way to learn about your subject…

Mars Memorial

 Second thought, I would omit buildings.  He lived in Brooklyn so I was going for urban  

A Quiet Date Monthly Mani and Pedi

On exhibit at Bridgeport 3rd Floor Gallery, 1200 W 35th St., Chicago, IL 60609 Starting November 14. 2026 under Chicago Alliance of Visual Artist

October 17, 2026 — Elaine O.

Coming along, slowly but surely.

10" x 14"

Class Photo — Fall 1 2026

Time flies, doesn't it? Another term over. We've added some really fine new artists (and, of course, we still have some really fine old artists).

Caliraya Lake 55 years apart! SS10.17

This painting was inspired by 2 photos(1) The first is the picnic photo of my future husband and myself with other people at Caliraya Lake, Luzon, Philippines. At that time the Lake was not fully developed and people visited the area for its lovely water scenery. It was free to the general public. In the 1971 photo, it showed T & S eating picnic food together on top of a table like rock near the water edge. During that picnic, I realized that our relationship would have a chance to advance since we solved a cross word puzzle together that day (plus the spark).We enjoyed solving puzzles during our 52 years of marital bliss. The second inspiration photo was a July 2026 short visit to the same Caliraya lake by my Philippine extended family 3 months after T's passing; to fulfill my arrival wish! The day after my granddaughter's graduation, my extended family & I made a trip of pilgrimage to honor our visit 55 years ago. Upon reaching the site, outside the now fully developed resort with entrance fees, our family prayed loving remembrances for dear T. We also took some recuerdo photos of the Lake, the trees, the boats and fellow tourists. The composite painting is the 2026 photos of the lake, the boat and the sky plus the 1971 figures of T & S positioned on a huge boulder or rock while eating picnic food. I never would have imagined that I would be creating a Watercolor painting of a happy memory when T & S visited Caliraya, on the same day, October 17, 55 years ago. Am grateful for small blessings!

Question: Date of first class - Next Session??

 Coming to the end of the hot press sketchbook. This is over edited… in the real image the people are not so obvious. 

Nature painting…

 

I’ve been working on all four of these at one time. They’re pretty small - 8x10 or under. Trying to focus on color mixing on the page, painting shapes not things, and letting things dry. Hard lessons to learn…

from the 9 towers project