Here's another painting I hope to finish in time for the March 21 Cornelia Arts Building Open Studios. Based on a photo I took near Wabash and Van Buren in Chicago. I'm not happy with the current state of the train but nothing that a little more paint can't fix!
Transit Skyline, oil on panel (work in progress), 2014
Here's the photo reference:
From Outside to Inside on Chicago’s North Side
Special thanks to Philip Hartigan, artist and writer for Hyperallergic, for featuring one of my pieces in his review of the Outsider show at Degenerate Art Gallery. Read the full story here.
Intersections, acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel, 24x24, 2013, $400
Last July, I spent an afternoon walking around shooting architectural photos of the water tanks and warehouses in River North. This is a painting I started a couple days ago, based on a view from an alley off of Chicago Ave. and LaSalle St. Next steps will be to add a little more detail to the buildings and then add all of the electrical wires. I plan on having this finished for the March 21st Open Studios.
River North Electricity - Painting in Progress, oil on panel
And here's the photo this is based on:
River North Electricity - Photograph: July, 21013
I've been working on a couple of projects early this year. One is a series of collaborative paintings (more on that in a future post) and a series of cityscapes. I've been working from my imagination but also shooting photos, sketching and walking around downtown to get inspiration. Unfortunately, the Chicago winter weather has limited some of that walking around. I finished one cityscape and have two others that are a little more than halfway done and starting to work on composition ideas for another. For most of these, I've also started assembling the frame and stretching the canvas myself. It's labor intensive but an enjoyable process. All are oil on canvas.
Downtown Lofts, oil on canvas, 28x28, 2014
Cityscapes - February 2014 (works in progress)
While I continue working on the skyline cityscape painting, I started this new abstract cityscape.
It's really more from the imagination but I am using a photo reference. The photo is of some buildings reflected in a glass facade on Washington St. in Chicago. I'm aiming to exaggerate the window's and building's shapes in order to give the image a more animated quality. Lots more layers of paint to go but off to a decent start.
I have been playing around with the iPad Brushes application. It's now a free open source app. Basically, you can draw/paint on the iPad and mimic various brushes, textures, etc. The app can also record your brushstrokes which is both pretty cool and creepy. But it's a great way to create a time-lapse video of the painting process. I mirrored the iPad animation onto my laptop using Airplay and then used AirServer to record it and export out as a video file. Then post to my Youtube channel. Hopefully, future functionality will have video export built in to the application.
Here's the final image:
With the holidays and some traveling I haven't been to the studio much lately. But, need to get back to this cityscape work in progress which is based on one of my favorite views of the skyline from the Brown Line CTA train.
I did make it in to the studio on New Year's Day for a little bit and worked on some drawings - oil bar and acrylic on record album cover:
Degenerate Art Gallery is having another opening Saturday night. The theme is black, white and grey. For this show, I'll be exhibiting some cityscape paintings. All are 12x12 on record album covers and come framed. Degenerate Art Gallery Black, White & Grey Showing: Cityscape Paintings Opening: December 14, 7-10pm Show Through January 5554 N. Winthrop Chicago, IL 60660
The Cornelia Arts Building Open Studios last weekend was fun and we had a great crowd to see the art and enjoy the live music. Some of my cityscape paintings and mixed media prints found new homes too! Thanks to all who attended. I was also interviewed by Eva Voinigescu, a Medill School of Journalism Master of Science Candidate who has been working on an article about how young people collect art. It was an interesting interview and hopefully she got some good information. One thing I try to do is to price my art so that most anyone can afford it. Typically my work ranges from $100 - $1,500 (sometimes more). Sometimes I'll have a secret sale and you can walk away with something for under $25.
The discussion made me think more about open studios and my goals and expectations. I always enjoy talking to people about my art making process which also helps me better understand art collectors and appreciators. Not everyone comes to buy art at the open studios and when they do it tends to be on the smaller/more affordable side. So, I've come to have lower sales expectations and view open studios as just a fun event/party where I can introduce my art to new people.
But more importantly, having people in my studio helps me better understand my own art and how it affects people. By directly interacting with the public, I have learned to explain my work more clearly. I've also learned that everyone interprets images differently. It's always exciting when someone points out something new or different about one of my own pieces and helps me see it in a new way.
Last Open Studios of 2013:
Cornelia Arts Building
Friday, November 22, 6-10pm
Saturday, November 23, 1-5pm
1800 W. Cornelia, Studio #201
Chicago, IL
Art on two floors, live music, and a food truck! I’m showing new cityscape and abstract paintings in Studio #201. Hope to see you!
There will be a secret sale of $10 mixed media screen prints and $40 photos will be happening in my studio!
