For the past couple of months, I've been working on a new series of black and white paintings. They are based on Instagram photos I shoot on walks during my lunch break. Back in the studio, I create charcoal sketches from the photos and then use those sketches to make the paintings using oil pigment sticks. Many times, I will shoot the photograph, do the sketch, and create the painting in the same day. My day job at a digital agency is now located at The Merchandise Mart, so this series of cityscape paintings is really just me exploring this new work neighborhood along the Chicago River. I'm still focusing on the older architectural elements, the steel bridges, and L trains, along with their surrounding modern architecture. Lately, I feel like I'm drawn to the various abstract shapes in the compositions and this method allows me to create quickly in a looser way since I'm using the pigment sticks as a drawing tool.
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