Open Studios - Friday October 4

The fall art season is in full swing so that means we're having another open studios night at the Cornelia Arts Building. Art on two floors, live music from the Minus One Quartet, and food truck The Tamale Spaceship will be in the parking lot.

Friday, October 4, 2013
6-10pm

Cornelia Arts Building
1800 W. Cornelia
Chicago, IL 60657

I'm in studio #201 and will be showing new paintings. I have also been working on a collaborative mixed media painting with Scott Simons. It will make its debut on Friday night in his studio #206-A.

Hope to see you!


September cityscapes - paintings in progress

As I work on the commission painting of the Chicago skyline, I continue to working on other projects. The below cityscape paintings of the John Hancock building, Marina Towers and L tracks are just about finished. I enjoy working on multiple pieces at once because its helps create cohesiveness between the different paintings. Also, I can experiment on one piece which then will help me develop ideas for another. I can loosen up with these pieces which then gives me greater focus when I work on the commission painting.

John Hancock Building, Marina Towers and L tracks (in progress)

Commission Painting Underway!

I started a new commission painting for a friend late last week. She is looking for a cityscape in my abstract style. There were certain colors and concepts we talked about and now the composition is taking shape. I based the concept on different photographs I shot from various spots with a good view of the Chicago skyline. I also did some sketches and a test painting before starting.

Here's what the painting looked like after some initial layers of acrylic and spray paint:



Now with the composition sketched in with charcoal:



And then with some paint starting to get added:



Lots more to go but off to a good start!



Heatwave + new commission painting

We have a late August heatwave happening here in Chicago. A perfect time to start on a new commission painting in a studio with no AC! Part of my process for creating custom paintings is doing a lot of sketches and taking photos. Once I come up with a composition then I start painting. Here's a photo I shot yesterday while walking around in 95 degree heat.

Heatwave, digitally enhanced photograph, 2013

And a couple of sketches that I'll base the painting on:

Sketch for commission painting

Sketch for commission painting

Paintings and sketches

For the last couple of weeks, I've been doing a lot of drawing - mostly of architecture. Even doing just a quick sketch or two a day at home or at the studio keeps me in the creative groove. One afternoon I also went downtown to draw Marina Towers and the bridges along the river. The sketches have informed some new paintings I started. They're loose and a bit more minimalist than some of my more recent paintings - more immediate like the drawings.

Here are some sketches:






And here are the paintings I have going right now:




Skyline Giclée Print

A few weeks ago, someone randomly found my art online and wanted a print of one of my paintings. It was of Chicago Lakefront Skyline, one that after completing last year, I had it professionally scanned/photographed. This allowed me to re-print the image with high resolution as a giclée print on archival somerset velvet paper. This printing process is great when you have a high-resolution file like I did because it shows all of the brushstrokes and colors much like the original. Here are a few pictures of it in my studio before the collectors picked it up.




Abstract water tanks - mixed media

I finished up these two water tank abstracts today. They are mixed media pieces: acrylic, spray paint, and collage. They are unique pieces because they bridge both my abstracts and cityscapes, but I'm including them in the cityscapes paintings section on my website.

Rockaway Floods, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 24x48, 2013

Lakeview Platform, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 24x48, 2013

Back to the painting

I'm back from Europe as of a couple days ago (some pics forthcoming). I was inspired by museums and galleries in Paris and the Bienalle art exhibition in Venice. Not to mention all of the architecture and street life in both cities.

Back in the studio yesterday and today. I picked up a couple paintings where I left off and started a few new ones. The new ones are more minimalist than the other recent paintings but I think they still all work together so far. We'll see where this experiment leads...












Exhibition in New York City - Opening Reception this Week

I'm excited to announce that three images of my cityscape paintings will be included in an exhibition in New York City. They will be projected on flat screens and large-scale on a wall. Here's one of the images that will be included:

West Loop Cityscape, acrylic on canvas, 24x48, 2012

The Story of the Creative
Curated by See.me
July 25-September 10

Opening Reception
Thursday, July 25th, 7-11pm
Location: Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art
172 Norfolk Street, New York NY, 10002

Exhibition Continues through September 10th:
See.Me Exhibition Space
26-19 Jackson Ave.
Long Island City, Queens
New York, NY 11101

http://artistswanted.tumblr.com/post/54034821255/the-story-of-the-creative-the-creative-force

http://www.orensanz.org/about.html