Painting in Progress: Montmartre - Paris

Montmartre - Paris, acrylic on canvas, 30x40 (work in progress)

This is continues my new series of paintings based on street scene photos I've taken. This particular one is based on a photo from my first visit to the Montmartre district in Paris. Cobblestone streets, greenery, people out and about taking in the street life and cafes...

montmartre photo reference 2009

Painting: Midtown (work in progress)

Midtown, acrylic on panel (work in progress)

This painting is coming along but needs some detail added. Originally, I wasn't going to include the details on the faces but now I'm leaning toward adding a little something.

Photograph: East Village Fire Escapes (New York)

East Village Fire Escapes (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009
From my colored cityscapes series of photographs.

Photograph: River City (Chicago)

River City (Chicago), photograph 2005
From my architecture series of photographs.

Photograph: Union Square Foursome (New York)

Union Square Foursome (New York), photograph, 2006

From my water tanks series of photographs.

Photograph: Uptown Theater (Chicago)

Uptown Theater (Chicago), photograph, 2007

From my old signage series of photographs.

Photograph: Thrift Store Window (Chicago)

Thrift Store Window (Chicago), photograph, 2005

From my street scenes series of photographs. This resale shop is now Urbanest, a home furnishings store, in Andersonville a northside neighborhood of Chicago. I've shown my work here a few times, including being the featured artist when they first opened.

Photograph: Flea Market Reflection (New York)

Flea Market Reflection (New York), photograph, 2006

From my graffiti +street art series of photos.

Painting in Progress: Midtown

midtown, acrylic on panel (work in progress)

This is a start to another painting in my series based on street photographs I've taken. This one is from a shot I took in Midtown Manhattan. I'm going for a looser feel and deliberately trying to stray away from using the dark outlines around the figures that I usually create.

NOVEMBER 2009 - CORNELIA ARTS BUILDING - OPEN HOUSE - STUDIO #201
Friday November 13th, 6-10pm
Saturday, November 14th, Noon-5pm
Sunday, November 15th, Noon-5pm


Pursed, acrylic on panel, 20x20, 2009

Many of the building's 40 artists will have their studios open for the open house. Come by, meet the artists, and check out the unique art in one of Chicago's longest-running artists' buildings. Drinks and snacks will be served.

LOCATION: The Cornelia Arts Building is located at 1800 West Cornelia Avenue (at Ravenswood), two streets south of Addison Street. Take the CTA Ravenswood "L" Brown Line to the Addison Street stop. From there, walk 1/2 block east to Ravenswood and go south (right) two more blocks. There is also plenty of off street parking for cars plus parking spaces behind the building.

Six New Paintings (well, five new and one in progress)

Here are some new figurative paintings finished over this past week. I was going for quick, loose, expressive. These are part of a new series that I'm working on based on street scene photographs and sketches I've done in New York and Chicago. "Pursed" is still a work in progress.

Headphones and Crowd, acrylic on canvas panel, 14x18, 2009, $150

Yellow Dress, acrylic on canvas paper (framed), 12x16, 2009

Blonde Cell Phone, acrylic on canvas paper (framed), 12x16, 2009

Heading to the Subway, acrylic on canvas paper (framed), 12x16, 2009

Pursed, acrylic on panel (work in progress), 2009

This water tanks painting is an imaginary scene that I guess could have existed along the shore of Lake Michigan or the River in Chicago's industrial heyday.

Seven Peaks, acrylic on panel, 16x20, 2009

Works in Progress - October 2009

These are some new paintings in progress -- a few figurative images and one cityscape. Trying to keep things a little looser lately with a quicker, sketch-like technique...

Art Openings This Weekend - October 2-4

Hi Everyone, just a reminder of this weekend's art events...

Urbanest - Andersonville Arts & Home Weekend
OPENING RECEPTION: October 2nd, 6pm-10pm
5228 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60640

Food generously donated by Big Jones with wine from In Fine Spirits.

I will be showing new paintings and screen prints for the full month of October. The show is part of The Andersonville Arts + Home Weekend -- October 2-4, 2009. The participating neighborhood businesses will also be open late on Friday. Take a stroll and enjoy the art. Saturday and Sunday explore the neighborhood all day and enjoy all kinds of art-related events.

This is a free event.

MAP: http://www.andersonville.org/artsweekend/wp-content/themes/09artsweekend/i/map.pdf

OPEN STUDIOS - RAVENSWOOD ART WALK
Saturday and Sunday - October 3-4
12pm-6pm

Stop by my studio in the Cornelia Arts Building - Studio #201
1800 W. Cornelia (at Ravenswood on the west side of the Metra tracks)
The Cornelia Arts Building will be celebrating the 22nd annual open house.

More info and directions: http://www.ravenswoodartwalk.org/09

Hope to see you this weekend!

Best,
Kevin

Open Studios - This Weekend

This Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4 is the Ravenswood Art Walk. I'll be having an open studio both days Noon-6pm. Stop on by if you can. I'll be showing some new paintings and screen prints.

Ravenswood Art Walk + OPEN STUDIOS
October 3-4, 2009
Cornelia Arts Building
1800 W. Cornelia, Studio 201
Chicago, IL 60657

New Painting: Charlie Brown Shirt

Charlie Brown Shirt, acrylic on panel, 12x16, 2009

I guess this is sort of a self portrait. I have a striped shirt like this and my wife makes fun of me when I where it, usually mocking me by singing/dancing to the "Charlie Brown" song. Thus, the title of the painting...

Urbanest October 2009 - Installation View

Urbanest, October 2009 - installation view

Urbanest, October 2009 - installation view

Urbanest, October 2009 - installation view

The show at Urbanest is now installed. I spent the afternoon today getting it hung. There's a mix of lakefront and cityscape imagery in a wide range of sizes. I'm showing both paintings and screen prints. It's the first time many of these pieces have been shown so I'm excited to see how they're received.

Click here to view the full installation

The Opening Reception party is Friday, October 2nd from 6pm-10pm. It's free. There will be food catered by Big Jones and wine courtesy of In Fine Spirits. It's the kickoff party for the Andersonville Arts and Home Weekend. Hope you can make it!

More Information Here: http://www.andersonville.org/artsweekend

New Painting: Sunset on the Brown Line

Sunset on the Brown Line, acrylic on wood panel, 80x30, 2009

This is one of the largest paintings I've ever done. The scene was composed referencing various sketches and photographs I've taken in Chicago and New York. While not an actual representation of anywhere in the city, it has familiar elements - the lake, L train, water tanks, and old warehouse buildings - some of my favorite subjects.

This painting will get it's first public showing October 2nd at my Urbanest exhibit during the opening night of the Andersonville Arts and Home Weekend.

More details coming soon on the opening night party....

New Painting: Faceless Foursome

Faceless Foursome, acrylic on canvas, 10x30, 2009, $175

I've been doing some figurative sketches of silhouettes recently. This painting is based on one of those sketches and, most likely, a start of a new series.

New Photographs - Colored Cityscapes (New York)

These photographs are part of my ongoing colored cityscapes series. They were shot in New York City in the fall 2006 and spring 2009. I recently digitally enhanced the images to add color and texture.

Abridged (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009

SoHo Angles (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009

Canal Street Merchants (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009

Mietz Building (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009

Downtown Tank (New York), digitally enhanced photograph, 2009

Watertank and L - painting in progress

Watertank and L, work in progress

A large, work-in-progress painting that will be finished for my show at Urbanest during the Andersonville Arts Weekend.

Saturday Shots: Happy Hour!

I haven't done one of my "Saturday Shots" posts (or any other blog posts for that matter) in a few weeks. Since it's the weekend, I figured a good subject matter would be bars. The following photographs are part of my old signage series. Cheers!

Simon's Fish (Chicago), photograph, 2005

Simon's is an old neighborhood tavern in Andersonville that's been around since the Great Depression. It's a former speakeasy with an interesting history. Cheap drinks, relaxed atmosphere, and a great jukebox.

Blatz Beer (Cedarburg, WI), photograph, 2004

Lincoln Square Liquors (Chicago), photograph, 2008

Painting in Progress: Watertanks, El Train Cityscape

Watertanks, El Train Cityscape, acrylic on wood panel (work in progress)

This is a work in progress painted on a 30x80 wood panel door. The composition is made up but I used photographs as reference. I first used gesso to prime the surface and then sketched the scene using graphite before starting to paint. There will be some minor compositional changes along the way as I build up the layers of color. This painting will be included in a solo show this fall at Urbanest in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood.

New Painting: Looking Through You

Looking Through You, acrylic on paper, 27x39, 2009

This new painting was done with acrylic on patterned paper. It was fun to paint while tacked on the wall in my studio -- something I don't do very often but have been doing more of lately. I like the effect of letting the pattern of the paper show through on the skin. It will be finished off with a black wooden frame.

Website Update: figurative studies gallery added

Nude study (sleeping chair), pastel and charcoal on paper, 18x24, 2005

I added a new section to the drawings galleries: figurative studies. Most of these drawings were done in the summer of 2005 during a class at Lill Street Art Center.

Click here to view the figurative studies gallery.

Saturday Shots: Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty, photograph, 2009

I figured this would be a good photo to post on the 4th of July. I hadn't been to the Statue of Liberty since about 1998. This past May, my wife and I took the first ferry out on a Saturday morning. Getting up before 7am on vacation was worth it - no crowds and we were in the first group to go up in the pedestal.

New Screen Prints: Bicycles

Bicycles (Golden Hits), screen print and acrylic on record album, 12x12, 2009

Bicycles (Horn), screen print and acrylic on record album, 12x12, 2009

In the spirit of summer, I created a new series of screen prints featuring bicycles. Some of them are done on old record albums (like above) and some on paper. I let some of the original artwork show through while adding additional color and texture with acrylic and screen printing ink.

Click here for the full series of bicycles screen prints.

Saturday Shots: The "El"

Some shots of the "El" taken over the years in various places from Downtown to Uptown. These photos are part of my street scenes series...

Circling the Loop (Chicago), photograph, 2005

CTA (Chicago), photograph, 2003

Red Line (Chicago), photograph, 2003

Under the Tracks (Chicago), photograph, 2005

Uptown (Chicago), photograph, 2003