Art Shows - This Weekend

This weekend brings our annual open house at the Cornelia Arts Building running in conjunction with Art Walk Ravenswood. I'll also be attending the Chicago Art Open Friday night at the Merchandise Mart where my painting At the Beach will be featured. Details below.

October 3-19, 2008

Chicago Art Open
Opening Reception - Oct 3rd 6-10pm
Merchandise Mart
Chicago, IL
- group show: painting on display

At the Beach, acrylic on canvas, 2008

October 4-5, 2008

ArtWalkRavenswood

Open Studio Event

Cornelia Arts Building

1800 W. Cornelia, Studio 201

Chicago, IL

Here's a preview of my studio set up for the Cornelia Arts Building Open House:


Drop by if you can - we'll have some drinks and snacks.

Screen-printing - first image

I'm taking a screen-printing on paper class - this is one of the first images I created after learning some basic steps. Utility pole images have started creeping into my sketches and paintings so I figured it would be good to try that out in this workshop.

Utility pole, screen-print (sample from workshop), 2008

It's the first time I've ventured into screen-printing but so far I like it. I like working fast and creating a lot of art; screen-printing definitely has that quality. Mostly though, I just wanted to learn something new, something that I could possibly incorporate into my own work. At the very least, it will help get the creative juices flowing and give me some new ideas to explore and techniques to try out.

Work in Progress: Utility Pole (purple haze)

Utility Pole (purple haze), work in progress, acrylic on board, 2008

The gesso board I'm using for this painting is a new type of surface I've been working with and so is the subject matter. The idea is to keep the brushstrokes loose and design a simple composition. I'm using the wires as an abstract element to give the painting some movement. This painting is close to being done -- just needs some touch-ups, including removing the dark lines under the flying bird. I'm also not happy with the bird on the right so that needs some reworking too. The goal is to have it done in time for the 7th annual ArtWalkRavenswood to show during our studio open house on October 4th-5th.

New Finished Painting: Weed St. Watertank

Weed St. Watertank, acrylic on wood panel, 12x12, 2008

I took the day off from my day job today. Got over to the studio early -- framed a painting, and added a hanging wire to another. Then, finished up Weed St. Watertank. By adding in the red, purple, and pink it really brightened it up and brought it together. And yes, the watertank is actually pink. Check out the photo I took below that I used as reference.

Weed St. Watertank, photograph, 2008

After starting two more new paintings this afternoon, made it home in time to meet my wife so we could get downtown to Millennium Park to see a free concert by Chicago's very own, Andrew Bird. He's a multi-talented musician and songwriter whose frequently in rotation on my studio playlist. His offbeat lyrics and music always give me some needed inspiration and creative visual ideas.