Western Avenue Series

Mile 16: Kinzie-Division
This sketch is a part of my Western Avenue Series, through which I'll be making 24 watercolor paintings, one to document each mile of Western Avenue, in Chicago.  I started this project because while it is not considered to be among the most “beautiful” of Chicago’s streets, Western Avenue is a perfect place to document the humanness of Chicago, the positive and the negative. In the words of Stuart Dybek, "Western, with apologies to State Street, is a great street,  Unlike State, it is a street that goes to the interior, the heart of the city, as it glides and glows through a United Nations of neighborhoods."  Check back next Monday to see a painting based on this sketch.

This stretch of Western has a variety of building types, small storefronts, like pharmacies, bars, restaurants, in addition to buildings with larger footprints, like a car dealership, which is the subject of the upcoming painting, a church and some larger condo buildings.

I've always been moved and sobered by the Ghost Bikes, bikes painted white to memorialize cyclist killed.  You see the bikes around the city and in doing a bit of research, I found that the Ghost Bike along this stretch of Western, memorializing Isai Medina, was the first in Chicago.  The unique bike used in this memorial was Isai's invention.  It seems that Mr. Medina, who was killed while riding home from worked was well known and loved, with over 400 people attending a memorial ride soon after his death.  He regularly rode his bike from Evanston to 4700 South for work each day. 

Finally, a correction.  I sung the praises of The Empty Bottle in the entry regarding "Mile 14" of the Western Avenue Series, mistakenly asserting that the bar and music venue is located along that stretch.  Actually, the Empty Bottle is located in this mile, just south of Division.  


Rest in peace Isai Medina and others lost is cycling accidents in our city.

Featured Artist

Michael Hendrix
Michael Hendrix is a painter and science educator in South Burlington, Vermont. He is currently working on a series of paintings using coffee, tea, and other consumable liquids as the media. He can be found on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/theretrievers and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/pages/TheRetrievers-at-Etsy/245075195534019 .

What inspired you create a series of paintings using coffee, tea, and other consumable liquids as the media?
      I live in a part of the country that, as a community, is generally very conscious of what is ‘consumed’. Vermonters have a tendency to go out of their way to question what is eaten and where their groceries are grown, and regularly support local farmers and businesses – something that was basically neglected where I was born and raised. When I first moved up here six years ago, I immediately found my eating habits challenged. This isn’t to say I was a ‘terrible’ eater, but I would have considered myself a ‘neglectful’ eater. To be honest, I’m still working on that!
      In many ways, the “Blend” series is an echo of my experiences since living up here. For me it represents getting back to the basics. Even the paints we consume are synthesized and chemically created. How many people actually know what’s in their paints, or gouaches, or watercolors prior to putting color to paper? I know I don’t. It’s sort of funny and ironic to me that art – the way that many of us relate our ideas and communicate – is, at it’s basics, created using all these bizarre chemicals that we are actually estranged from. I want to create a conversation about my work, but do I have really have the right to ask someone to think about what they consume if I can’t really converse about the basics of the media I’m consuming to create it?
      I don’t want to imply that I think my way is best, but I think that in the context of the “Blend” series, using consumable media is appropriate. I’ve always tried to stay conscious of Marshall McLuhan’s admonition that “the medium is the message” while working on these paintings. I want people to think differently about what they put into their bodies, and to look at coffee, tea, wine – whatever – and think about how these things come together in a bizarre alchemy to keep us alive. There’s another use of them besides stuffing them in our mouths. As creators, there is also a HUGE range of beautiful tones and natural colors that are immediately available all around us that we choose to neglect because we aren’t thinking about them. We (and I include myself in this) tend default to what we’ve been prescribed: that color only comes out of a tube, and that we can’t create without going to the art store to buy something. For this series at least, I felt a little silly trying to use colors that I myself wasn’t intimately involved in deriving.

The natural surroundings in Vermont seems to have inspired your Birches series, as well as some of your landscapes. What do you love about Vermont?
     One of the advantages of living in a predominantly rural state is that you really feel like you’re a functioning part of the environment, even in the ‘big city’ like Burlington (which is still tiny compared to cities in most other states). The light here is unbelievable and sort of supernatural, especially in the evenings. That has to be my favorite aspect of where I live. It sounds sort of silly, I guess, but I think it’s influenced my color range a lot.
      In the summer, Vermont is a very, very vibrant green. In the Champlain Valley, where I live, the Adirondack Mountains are clearly visible across the lake, and tend to be a very distinct blue in the late in the afternoon. In the evenings, things become draped in a strange violet hue, but the sky gets very bright red. In the fall, there’s a period of about a week and a half where the maple leaves are a fiercely saturated orange, and stand out against the complementary bright blues of the sky. Then it typically rains really hard once and then everything hits the ground and turns to a mess… Novembers are visually muted and muddy and generally unpleasant. Winters are long, and the constant blanket of snow makes the darkest midnight really bright in the reflection of the moon. There’s a really wide range of colors going on here, some of which I’ve tried to catch in the little landscape paintings I’d posted; the “Birches” series is more playful and focuses more on the nighttime contrast and positive-negative space you see around here in winter. 

Are there new themes or media you anticipate exploring in your upcoming work?
Absolutely, and I think you’ll see more of it in the “Blend” series as I learn to articulate these ideas a bit more in the future. I’m always a little skeptical when an artist tells someone what they should be seeing. My personal contention is that a good artwork should be reasonably conversational and directional, but not dictating. In my experience, it’s always more gratifying when you work something out by yourself rather than being told what to see. A good piece of art, like a good conversation, should effectively communicate ideas and really spark the audience to approach an idea in a way they normally wouldn’t have thought of it. It should be a catalyst.
     Ok, stepping off my soapbox, there ARE several themes that I’m moving towards that I hope people will notice if they keep popping by the shop. I’m really interested in the idea of circles and what they imply about infinity and cycles, so you’ll see more of these. I’ve also been exploring the idea of repetitive forms and what it implies about addiction and habits, I’m planning on incorporating more plain water into the paintings, which incidentally, I’ve found erases layers of color set down by coffees and teas. I think there’s a really beautiful purification statement in there somewhere that I still need to develop, but it’s very unpredictable during the drying process and I’m working out the kinks of working with it. The fact that coffees and teas can be erased through water also relates back to their impermanence, which is something I’m very concerned with. And finally, being a scientist, I want to imply topics relating to cells and birth/creation/division. I don’t think art and science are mutually exclusive disciplines, especially when it comes to analysis. They are so similar, and no one seems to give that relationship any credit these days. Anyway, hopefully a few of these little clues will help people see something they didn’t notice in the paintings - without telling them how to interpret it.
    Right now I’m knee deep in the “Blends”, and future paintings will incorporate alcohols, especially wines, and some new teas and coffees into the mix. I’ll be revisiting the birches too, but there’s so much to say with the more recent work that I think I’ll be communicating this way for a while!

Many thanks to Michael to sharing his work!

What do you think of Michael's fantastic "Blend" series?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 15: Congress-Kinzie
This painting is a part of my Western Avenue Series, through which I'll be making 24 watercolor paintings, one to document each mile of Western Avenue, in Chicago.  I started this project because while it is not considered to be among the most “beautiful” of Chicago’s streets, Western Avenue is a perfect place to document the humanness of Chicago, the positive and the negative. In the words of Stuart Dybek, "Western, with apologies to State Street, is a great street,  Unlike State, it is a street that goes to the interior, the heart of the city, as it glides and glows through a United Nations of neighborhoods."  Check back next Monday to see a post about the next mile of Western.

It has been a challenge to stay on top of my work on this Western Avenue Series with my recent schedule change.  I am now working a full time architecture day job and facilitating a design studio three nights a week.  So, completing a painting seems all the sweeter.  I finished this painting last night and enjoyed the charm of this little building associated with the Metra train line with vines growing all over it.  Hope to have another completed painting in two weeks! 

Featured Artist

Elisaveta Sivas
Elisaveta Sivas is an artist-designer and who works in a few different artistic fields, including painting, ceramics and costume design. Elisaveta used to be a university researcher, but her desire to create art was strong, so she had to leave the university. She studied costume design in an evening school and art in different courses and studios. Elisaveta sees the creative process first of all as a way of understanding and improving herself and of understanding this world.

What do you love about the horses and birds which make frequent appearances in your art?
My horses and birds come from my childhood. It's something very dear to my heart, pure and intimate.  I suppose what we create tells much about what we feel. I think that a bird for me symbolizes my desire for being free and flying free, but sometimes also escaping from difficult life circumstances. They also represent for me grace and fragility and remind me of women. While the horse provides a feeling of stability, power and security. And also it's a symbol of nobility, grace and calm in my soul.

Are there particular artists who have influenced your work?
I love many artists, they have all influenced my work. I love Marc Chagall, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Leon Bakst, Mikhail Vrubel, Michel Macreau and many others. I love Art Brut, Art Deco, Naïve art. I adore Kashan ceramics and Japanese graphics. Classic music gives me a lot of inspiration. I like a lot Pier Paolo Pasolini and Andrei Tarkovsky. I love a lot Rustam Khamdamov, I adore his films and paintings.

Are there new themes or mediums you anticipate exploring in your upcoming work?
As to the mediums, I've started to make collage from tissue and wool lately. I have some material left from designing clothes, I use it for my paintings. I really do enjoy it. I love making woolen mane and tales for my horses and sometimes I make saddles from tissue. I make tissue dress and woolen hair for my women portraits.
As to the new themes, I've started to be interested in women's faces. It's a challenge for me, I am still searching my way and technique to paint women.

Many thanks to Elisaveta for sharing her work!

What do you think of her fantastic paintings?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 15: Congree-Kinzie
This sketch is a part of my Western Avenue Series, through which I'll be making 24 watercolor paintings, one to document each mile of Western Avenue, in Chicago.  I started this project because while it is not considered to be among the most “beautiful” of Chicago’s streets, Western Avenue is a perfect place to document the humanness of Chicago, the positive and the negative. In the words of Stuart Dybek, "Western, with apologies to State Street, is a great street,  Unlike State, it is a street that goes to the interior, the heart of the city, as it glides and glows through a United Nations of neighborhoods."  Check back next Monday to see the painting based on this sketch.

This stretch of Western is characterized by a number of building of a larger scale.  Recently build new condo buildings, larger institutional buildings and some early 20th century office buidlings.

This portion of the avenue is very close to the United Center (home to the Chicago Bulls), which is located at Damen Avenue and Madison.  

This stretch also passes near to the Western Avenue Metra Stop, near to which the train building featured in this upcoming painting is located.

Featured Artist

Cindy Ruprecht
Cindy Ruprecht's inspiration comes from nature. All of her pieces reflect her love for the beauty of the natural world. As a studying naturalist, she enjoys painting, working with leather, beads, basketry, primitive skills of any kind, and studying native plants. She lives in the beautiful Cascade Mountains where she produces her artwork.

Are there places you would like to visit to gather inspiration for future work?
I would love to paint in the southwest....the beautiful color of the rocks and amazing blue and turquoise of the sky.

Does working with leather, beads, and basketry influence your painting work or vice versa?
I love the texture and richness of working with leather, beads, plant and animal fibers. There is a connection with the ancient ones, while doing this, and your spirit begins to remember.  In my paintings, I love to focus on mother nature's creation as a forum for education. As a naturalist, art is a means to educate people on their surroundings and bring their awareness to the beauty around them. 

What do you love about creating art, which reflects the beauty of the natural world?
I like to meld the art, spirit and nature in my paintings, as there is no separating these three. One supports the other. The spirit of nature is so important for people to connect with in these times, especially children....We need to get our children connecting with the earth again.

Many thanks to Cindy for sharing her work!

What do you think of Cindy's work?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 14: 16th-Congress Streets
This painting is a part of my Western Avenue Series, through which I'll be making 24 watercolor paintings, one to document each mile of Western Avenue, in Chicago.  I started this project because while it is not considered to be among the most “beautiful” of Chicago’s streets, Western Avenue is a perfect place to document the humanness of Chicago, the positive and the negative. In the words of Stuart Dybek, "Western, with apologies to State Street, is a great street,  Unlike State, it is a street that goes to the interior, the heart of the city, as it glides and glows through a United Nations of neighborhoods."  Check back next Monday to see a sketch of the next painting in the series.

Finally!  I have completed the next painting in my Western Avenue series.  The last weeks have been marked by transition.  I have gone from working part time and free lance to full time position with an architecture firm in Chicago.  I have also started teaching in the evening design program at Archeworks.  So, I've been in the process of transition, but hope to return to a more regular schedule of Western Avenue paintings.  I really enjoyed showing two of the paintings in the a.DOT show last month and giving an artist talk about the series.  I am looking forward to an opportunity to show the full series once they are all complete.

This painting depicts an auto repair shop.  It's not extraordinary, but seems quite typical of the part of Western in which it is situated.  The street is lined with small businesses, but many of the storefronts are quite utilitarian in nature.


Click here to purchase this painting.

Looking forward to moving further north, only ten paintings to go!