New Paintings and Wishbone Show - January 2009

Here Comes the Sun, acrylic on canvas paper, 2008

I have a solo show during the month of January at Wishbone on Lincoln Avenue in Roscoe Village. The show is part of the Friends of the Arts (FOTA) "Around Town" program.

I just finished the above portrait, Here Comes the Sun, and the abstract tree shown below, called One Fine Day. I worked to create uplifting images with bright colors for the new year and in hopes for a better road ahead. These will both be part of the Wishbone show.

One Fine Day, acrylic on canvas, 2008

Photo Fridays: Apache Motel

Apache Motel, photograph, 2008

One of the bike routes I take to and from my studio is Lincoln Avenue. Lincoln Ave. is the Route 41 -- and before the highway system -- a main travel route in and out of Chicago. It actually follows an old Native American trail.

I shot this photo late one summer afternoon biking along Lincoln Ave. on my way home from the studio. There are many of these old motels along this northern stretch Lincoln Ave. which are slowly being replaced by condos and new businesses. They're now mostly transient residences and flophouses. The Apache Motel sign is probably the most interesting of these signs -- the dusky sky and setting sun bringing out it's faded colors of a bygone era.

Photo Fridays: Randolph El Station

Randolph El Station, photograph, 2006

I've been going through some more old photos and found this one. This shot was taken from the walkway over the El tracks in Chicago's Loop. I was shooting photos of the passing trains and surrounding architecture along Wabash Ave when I got approached by a CTA employee. He asked what I was doing and told me that I couldn't take photographs on CTA property, especially of the trains. Even after I explained that I was an artist he asked that I stop. Apparently, the train operators were getting nervous because they thought my telephoto lens was a gun. Taking photos in public places - another casualty of 911.

Photo Fridays: Canal Street, NYC

Here are some more shots of New York. It's been a couple years since I've been there, so I guess I'm getting the itch to go again...

Canal Street (food cart), photograph, 2006

Canal Street (shopping), photograph, 2006

While I normally focus on architecture, I sometimes like to shoot street scenes of people doing everyday things. These two photos were taken at opposite corners near Broadway and Canal in Lower Manhattan. Canal Street is the place to go to buy cheap stuff and, where historically, goods are brought into port and sold.

Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Wall St. are nearby and the vibrancy of those neighborhoods all spill out onto Canal Street - people working, shopping, running errands, or getting a bite to eat. I like the mailman talking on his cell phone in the top image and the woman looking for something in her purse in the bottom photo.

Photo Fridays: CBGB's Forever

I took this shot when I was in New York in 2006 two weeks after the landmark underground music club, CBGB's closed. I've been there a few times for music since the mid 90's and a couple times during the day when you can wander in without all the crowds. Definitely an end to an era - most of the Ramones are dead and the owner Hilly Kristal died last year. And now his family fights over the estate.

It's rare to find a place where so many artists, musicians, writers, poets, and the avant garde created a community that influenced so many people. CBGB's was an incubator for creativity and experimentation - the effects still being felt today - 30 years after it's peak.

The day after I took this photo (on my way out of town), I passed by CBGB's in a cab. The graffiti and sign were painted over with all white - as if CBGB's never existed.