Merry Christmas Mom!

      As is the experience of many other artists, my interest in drawing and making things began as a child.  And, I feel lucky to that my interest in visual design was encouraged and supported by my Mom is trained as a graphic design and a fantastically creative person.  In my childhood, my Mom undertook many, many creative pursuits, including the design of many beautiful cards and invitations, working as a volunteer to assist students in designing the yearbooks at our school, creating stunningly beautiful signage for our pre-school, knitting, weaving, and quilting.  

     In addition to the all the projects she undertook, she taught my sister a lot about design and craft.  I'm sure that it was those early lessons which sparked my interest in drawing and painting, which remains strong today.  For that, I am tremendously grateful.  

     In her current work, my Mom employs her graphic design skills and on my birthday I almost always receive a card, which she has custom designed.  After I began selling paintings and invitations on Etsy a few years ago, it struck me that Etsy might also be a good place for my Mom to sell her beautifully designed cards.  So, for Christmas this year, I have printed a run of one of her hand drawn birthday cards and opened an Etsy shop for her.  I hope that she will enjoy the opportunity to share some of her design work with a larger audience and that she will consider creating additional designs for her shop in the future.  Visit her new shop, Papel y Lapiz on Etsy!  

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Holiday Cards 2012

This design for my 2012 Holiday postcards features a Chicago snow globe, with a "sweet home Chicago" banner below. The image of snow globe reminds me of one of my favorite times of year in Chicago: I delight in the early months of winter, the twinkle of Christmas lights, and the delight of the first snow! 

Check out these 5x7 postcards at my Etsy shop.  These postcards are professionally printed on 100# cardstock, semi-gloss front and matte back.

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Election Day 2012

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”  Abraham Lincoln

Election day is finally upon us and I felt inspired to pull this painting I made several years ago out of the archives.  I am feeling giddy excitement, extreme nervousness, and gratitude for democracy, as we anticipate the returns this evening.  Happy election day!

Painting Water & Light

On a recent vacation to the Trelawny Parish of Jamaica, I continued my exploration painting water and sky.  "The Color of Light" the title given to a 2008 Winslow Homer exhibit at the Art Institute came to mind in making these paintings.  The clear reflective water of Jamaica seemed particularly expressive of the bright sunshine and billowy clouds.  Not only that, the experience called to mind the beautiful paintings that Homer himself made on visits to the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.  Homer who loved to fish and paint out of doors, took to wintering in the tropics starting in 1884.  For me, it was a delight to spend many hours on the beach, alternatively painting, reading, dipping in the water, and napping.  Check back next week to see another painting in the series. 

Summer Lake Series

This painting was made at Belmont Harbor looking south toward the break walls north of North Avenue Beach.  I used a charcoal pencil to highlight the darkest portions of the painting.  I enjoy the way that the charcoal blends with the watercolor as the paint runs over the charcoal. 

Summer Lake Series

 Yet, another lake painting, made while sitting on the pier Foster Beach on an overcast day.  From that vantage point one can see the succession of light houses at Foster Beach and Montrose Point as well as the distant skyline. 

Garden Update

With the garden season nearing its end, I've been evaluating my first year of backyard gardening.  The tomatoes have been the most successful of the garden produce this year.  I've also been particularly taken with the purple beans, a vine plant which has woven it's way around the other plants in the garden. the vines reaching nearly ten feet from the origin of plant. 

The garden has been an ideal setting for many summer dinners, it has provided me with many hours of quiet reflection as I water and tend the plants each evening, and it has made feel more connected with this small bit of land and the place I call home.

I already find myself making plans for the upcoming garden season.  I hope to get an earlier start, try some new vegetables, and improve my tomato staking system.  I always feel a nostalgia at this time of year for winter.  It is a season which highlights the cozy comfort of a warm home.  This year a component of those winter months will be day dreams of the garden season to come and paging through seed catalogs. 

Summer Lake Series

Summer is beginning to draw to a close, Labor Day seems to mark an end to the season and I return to facilitating a studio at Archeworks next week.  It has left me feeling a bit sad about the inevitable end of the warm months in Chicago.  I'm so glad that I've taken time to sit by the lake this summer and paint because winter in Chicago tends to curtail the opportunities to paint outside.  There is, of course, great delight in sitting in my studio with a hot beverage and painting while snow falls outside, but this is not the same as sitting at the lake on an early summer evening.  It was so pleasing to make this painting on an early evening in late August at Foster Street beach.  A storm had passed and the sky was changing rapidly.  I made this painting of the pier on which I have frequently run with the evening sky in the distance. 

Summer Lake Series

These paintings are from a weekend camping trip in late July to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion.  It was my first trip to the park, which is only 40 miles north of Chicago.  The campgrounds are located directly on Lake Michigan and as always I marveled at how different the Lake feels outside of Chicago--bigger and cleaner perhaps.

We spent nearly a full day on Saturday, at the beach, alternatively lounging on the beach and dipping into the refreshing water.  It was a perfect opportunity for me to continue my summer lake series.  It was a beautiful day, beautiful skies, which changed throughout the course of the day.

These three paintings were quick sketch paintings I made that day.  I painted them on illustration board (I typically paint on watercolor paper).  I enjoyed experimenting with the paint on the smooth, slow drying boards. 

Summer Lake Series

I made this painting in mid-July sitting at North Avenue Beach before playing a volleyball game.  The sky was dark, appearing as though it might rain and the lake reflecting the dark clouds appeared almost inky in color.  I made this painting using a generous amounts of paint and water, which is not typical of my controlled painting style.  It was a fun painting to make.  Each time I paint the sky and the lake I think the beautiful paintings of Winslow Homer, whose beautiful nature paintings, which continually inspire me.   

Featured Artist

Kevin Budnik
Long time blog readers will recall that I presented a series featuring the work of other artists in 2010 and 2011.  I have discontinued the regular series, but hope to continue to share the work of other artists from time to time.  This week I am very pleased to present the work of Chicago artist, Kevin Budnik.  Kevin is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BFA in Illustration.
    He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, in a modest apartment in Rogers Park. He has very fond memories of school play rehearsals, papier mâché Halloween costumes, and Friday taco nights.
    He spends most of his time drawing noodle-armed characters, writing meticulous to-do lists for himself, and he finds walking through the city at night calms him down.

You wrote the Yale Press Blog about "how to think like a cartoonist" and your daily cartooning for a year. How would you describe "thinking like a cartoonist?"
I would say in order to think like a cartoonist, the best place to start is by figuring out how to tell your story in a way that the reader will easily decode it. It's important to realize that cartooning is an advanced form of semiotics - symbols and signs. One of my earliest lessons came from a cartooning by Peanuts cartoonist, Charles Shulz. He outlined a lesson where the artist will practice drawing simple objects in groups of three, as quickly as possible. It was meant to teach the reader how to break down everyday objects into the language of cartoons. by deciding the simplest way to draw a phone, say, your audience will see that picture and immediately register the lines and shape as "phone." 
     Beyond that, there are the elements of composition that every visual artist needs to live by. Composing a panel so it can be read quickly, while still keeping in mind that you are trying to tell a story, and that your characters need to be conveying the emotions and actions that the words cannot.

I love the illustrations in your "my year of worldly possessions - items from my bedroom" series.  What drew you to this particular daily practice?
My daily drawings came out of the daily journal comic I kept up for a while. It's really important to draw every day, no matter what it is. Like any muscle, if you don't exercise your urge to draw, it will shrivel and die.
     The objects were simply what I had at hand, and I've always been fascinated with objects. The things people choose to keep in their homes, close to them, or what to keep and what to discard, are interesting to me. They can say a lot about who we are and our personal aesthetic. I like the idea of an artist building their space, surrounding themselves with things that represent their inspirations. It's almost like a workspace or a home can become it's own work of art. I like nesting.

Are there new themes, media, experiments you plan to undertake in the future?
As far as new themes or media go, the next project I'm working on is going to be a change from my usual comfort level in that I'm moving on to fiction as opposed to autobiography.
I've started work on a short series of stories that will focus on a small rural town and its inhabitants. I'm hoping to include some of the real-world locations and culture that inspire me. Additionally I'd like to have the stories all have a similar feel of humanity, while all being told from different view points. I've never tried to write something that wasn't in my own voice before.

Summer Lake Series

I made this painting on the 4th of July, while sitting at Montrose Avenue Beach.  The sun was setting and I found myself a spot on the dunes which lie along the beach.  I painted looking north toward the Edgewater Beach Hotel and other apartment buildings located along the lake.  It was a delightful evening, the water was extraordinarily tranquil and the sky quite beautiful.  The atmosphere on the beach rather lively with many families who had spent the day celebrating the holiday with barbeques, games of volleyball, music, and swimming.  As I finished the painting the beach-goers were beginning to set off fireworks, causing billows of smoke to accumulate as the sun slipped away.

Selections from "At the Heart of the City"

Opening Night Reception
Wednesday, August 8 | 5-8PM
Manske Dieckmann Thompson Architecture Interiors | 4619 N. Broadway
This August, MDT, in Uptown, will present their latest gallery show, a selection from "At the Heart of the City: Western Avenue in 24 Paintings." An opening reception will be held Wednesday, August 8th, from 5-8 PM.  At the Heart of the City is a series of 24 watercolor paintings, one to document each mile of Western Avenue, Chicago's longest street.  This is a second chance to see a selection from this series which was shown previously at the Beverly Arts Center in May.  MDT is located just north of Wilson on Broadway.  Hope you can join us! 

Summer Lake Series

I made this painting on a recent Tuesday evening, while sitting under a tree in the park adjacent to Foster Avenue beach.  It was a delightful evening.  I really enjoyed making this painting because this is a stretch of the lake very familiar to me and it's a very lively stretch at this time of evening: the beach was filled with sunbathers, dogs and dog owners frolick on the dog beach, and people stroll along the pier.  I have run many times along this stretch out to the light house at the end of this pier.  Reaching the end of the pier is certainly the highlight of this run as the sound of the city is replaced with the sound of the lake lapping, the wind blows off the water, and one sees the lake for many miles beyond. 

Another delightful evening in Chicago!

Garden Update

It has been a hot, dry summer in Chicago, in fact in the last week we've had a record number of days over 100 degrees.  Happily though, the conditions have been right for the garden in my backyard to thrive.  I wasn't sure if the long narrow plot in my backyard (on the north side of my house) would get enough sun or if it would drain properly.  

It seems that this year of experimental gardening has been a success so far.  I have found that plot receive ample sun as the shadow cast by my apartment as the sun passes through the southern sky falls just shy of the garden plot allowing the plants to bask in sunshine throughout the day.  And, it seems that my efforts at improving the drainage in the plot with a layer of gravel and new soil have been a success creating conditions for the plants to thrive.

I can hardly believe the growth of the plants since I planted both seeds and seedlings over Memorial Day weekend.  Most everything has expanded to many times its original size and fruits are beginning to form, including peppers, radishes, lettuce and most excitingly, tomatoes.  

I look forward to the culinary adventures which await with harvest is in full swing.  In the meantime, I have built a new patio table, a simple design using sawhorse brackets, to allow for meals to be enjoyed beside the garden, with globe lights strung above.  This garden experiment has indeed resulting a deeper sense of connection with my corner of the world, producing my own food has yielded great pleasure, and I anticipate great joy in cooking meals with the garden harvest to share with friends.

I hope that your garden is thriving as well!

Summer Lake Series

This is a painting I made about two and half weeks ago, while sitting in PFC Milton Olive Park on the Lake Michigan in Chicago.  I had to look at a map, just now, to determine the name of that park as it is a place that I have passed many dozens of times, but a park I've only ventured into a few times and the name of which I didn't know.  When looking at a map it is a thicker shorter peninsula that juts into the lake just north of Navy Pier.  I made this painting on a warm summer Friday afternoon with lots of people sunning themselves on the adjacent beach and a number of boats anchored in the bay.  The park is less heavily trafficked though and it was quite a pleasant place to sit and make this loose watercolor painting.  I'm really enjoying creating a series of watercolors of the Lake, in fact, I plan to go over to the lake in a few minutes to make a painting this evening. 

Happy 4th of July!

Summer Lake Series

In a continued effort to make paintings at the lake this summer, I made this pen and watercolor painting, while sitting on the beach at Montrose Harbor two weeks ago.  It was a delight to sit among sun bathers, adjacent to a kayak launch point and make this painting.  I really appreciated the opportunity that my current schedule allows for me to while away a weekday evening at the lake. 

Summer Lake Series

After many months of painting Western Avenue, with its broad swaths of asphalt, concrete sidewalks, and sturdy brick buildings I find myself wanting nothing more than to paint the ever-changing, fluidity of Lake Michigan, and the beaches and trees which line the lake in Chicago.  Specifically, I want to make quick loose sketch paintings.  

In the Western Avenue series I toiled for many, many hours in my studio over precise paintings, it's a mode of painting with which I am very comfortable.  My training as an architect attracts me to precision and discipline in painting.  As with most things, I feel gratitude for the skill set I have, but am also drawn to expand the ways in which I paint, to challenge myself to paint in ways which are outside my comfort zone.  So, I'm going to dedicate myself to making a series of loose paintings this summer, sitting by the lake, painting with broad strokes, and channeling Winslow Homer and John Marin, two of my painting heros and both extraordinary painters of water.


This is the first of these paintings.  It was made it on a brisk June night while sitting on a pier at North Avenue beach.  In addition to creating a challenge for myself, these quick paintings offer the opportunity to sell paintings affordably, as part of my desire to make art accessible to a wider audience.  All of the paintings in this series will be sold for $50 or less.  Visit my Etsy shop to see all of the paintings currently available. 

Summer Projects

In my work as a studio facilitator at Archeworks this year, our partner was Growing Power, a large urban farm that began in Milwaukee and has since developed a large presence in Chicago.  Growing Power's mission is to support people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities.  Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner.

My new garden bed

They are truly an extraordinary organization and partner.  They set ambitious goals and it is apparent from their fully realized farm in Milwaukee that they are able to deliver pragmatic, easily replicable solutions to the challenges of urban farming.  We will be partnered with Growing Power again next year and are honored to be presenting at (as well as participating in) the National Growing Power Conference this fall.

In considering the coming year the other studio facilitator and I have been preparing readings and considering the most critical contextual information to provide to the incoming students.  As a result I've found myself reading about agriculture and its modern state. In one Essay entitled "The Whole Horse" by Wendall Berry, he writes, "We currently live in the economy of culture of the 'one-night stand.'  Industrialism has provided us innumerable commodities, amusements, and distractions, but these offer us little satisfaction.  Instead we suffer ever-increasing alienation form our families, our communities, and the natural world.  There is another way to live and think: it's called agrarianism.  It is not so much a philosophy as a practice, and attitude, a loyalty; and a passion--all based in a close connection with the land.  It results in a sound local economy in which producers and consumers are neighbors and in which nature herself becomes the standard for work and production."  

I find myself with a strong desire to take those words to heart this summer, in small ways I hope to live with a closer connection to the land.  With that in mind I spent most of memorial day weekend preparing my small (2'x24') plot for a garden.  I'm hoping to make a much more intentional effort at purchasing produce, dairy, and other goods from the farmer's markets and other local sources in the coming months, considering in an intentional way the implications of my purchases.  I'll write more about my efforts at meaningful connection to community and natural world through the summer.

A Love Letter to Inspiration Corporation

In 1989, Lisa Nigro founded Inspiration Cafe serving coffee and sandwiches from a red wagon in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.  In the years since it's founding, Inspiration Corporation has grown to serve 3,000 individuals a year by providing meals, supportive services, housing, employment preparation and vocational training, and free voice mail.  I started volunteering at Inspiration Corporation in early 2008 and it has been one of the constants in my life ever since.  I volunteer each Wednesday morning and often summarize my involvement by saying "it's the best volunteer job I've ever had."  


I like that when I return each Wednesday to serve breakfast in the cafe the same familiar faces greet me, George, Gloria and Kelvin who manage the cafe, Dietrich, Mike, and Carl who cook the meals, Haywood who does the dishes, and Jim, Mel, and Ellen who are also regular Wednesday volunteer meal servers.  And, of course, the guests of the cafe: Roy who always gives me a big hug when I arrive, Sheila who likes her coffee filled to the very rim of the cup, Kimmie who is taking classes at Truman, Paul who has a warm smile, and many many others.


It's not only familiarity that keeps me coming back to Inspiration though.  I've volunteered with a number of organizations that provide services to the homeless, even working for a year as a case manager in the largest homeless shelter in Phoenix.  Those experiences remind me of what makes Inspiration Corporation special.  The cafe where meals are served is warm, painted with beautiful brightly colored murals, the tables are small and often adorned with flowers, and morning sun pours through the West facing windows.  The guests are familiar, all participants in the programs offered at Inspiration, so I know many of their names and some of their stories. Perhaps most especially the meals are served restaurant style rather than cafeteria style.  The guests sit at tables and volunteers bring drink orders to them, take their meal orders, and deliver meals made to order.  After the meal, volunteers clear plates and often sit down to have breakfast themselves.  


The mission statement of Inspiration Corporation is "In an atmosphere of dignity and respect, Inspiration Corporation helps people who are affected by homelessness and poverty to improve their lives and increase self-sufficiency through the provision of social services, employment training and placement, and housing."  It is that critical recognition of dignity and respect as imperative to the work they do as an organization, which I believe makes Inspiration Corporation unique.


I believe that recognizing the dignity of and treating with respect those with whom I interact is at the very core of what I aim to do with my life.  In addition to informing major life choices, belief in dignity and respect requires intentional choices in everyday interactions.  It is a simple and obvious goal, but one which quickly falls by the wayside when I feeling affronted by the person with whom I'm interacting, when I feel fatigued by having yet another person ask me for money on the street, or I'm simply feeling stressed or rushed.  Perhaps, that's what I love most about volunteering at Inspiration, it is a time each week that reminds me to treat others with dignity and respect.  It's a reminder that sometimes serving coffee with a smile is glimpsing the absolute best version of myself.       


I hope to continue to support Inspiration Corporation with time and money for many years to come.  For that reason, I am donating $10 from every Western Avenue postcard set and 20% of proceeds from painting sales to Inspiration Corporation.  And, I will continue to make small donations of proceeds from my other Etsy shops to Inspiration.  I hope you will consider volunteering or making a financial contribution to Inspiration Corporation or finding an opportunity to support an organization that inspires you.

A Love Letter to Postcards

I'm smitten with postcards!  I have a nostalgic attachment to hand-written, postal mail.  I seem to inevitably find the images which adorn postcards interesting, whether its a piece of artwork or a souvenir postcard for a tourist destination.  I have a small collection of postcards, including some sent to my Grandfather in the early part of the 20th century, which I treasure.

I am also interested in the opportunity that the postcards offer to make owning art portable and accessible to virtually anyone.  Postcards can be thought of very affordable art prints and can allow for one person to own a full collection of a series of related artworks.  It was these interests which inspired me to create postcards for each painting in "At the Heart of the City: Western Avenue in 24 Painting."  

There are 24 postcards in total, each of which features a portion of one painting in the series.  I will be selling the postcards as sets, which feature all the paintings in the series {$30}.  I will also be selling individual postcards, so you can pick out a few of your favorites {$2 each or 10 for $15}.  The postcards can be purchased at the exhibit reception this Saturday, May 19 from 7-9PM at the Beverly Art Center or, at an Etsy shop featuring my Western Avenue work found here.  $10 of every postcards set purchase will be donated to Inspiration Corporation, stay tuned for a love letter to Inspiration Corporation.  

Are you fond of postcards?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 24: Pratt-Howard
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."  

I wanted to paint the P & S Restaurant because it seems representative of a prevalent typology, in Chicago.  I think I feel a certain fondness and nostalgia for these diners because throughout my childhood my family regularly ate at diners on Sunday morning after attending church.  P&S seems perfectly representative of those dining establishments.  A glowing Yelp review of P&S says it is, "hands down, the best diner breakfast in Rogers Park!"  

The review goes on to read, "I eat here every week.  It is easier than going to the store and getting the ingredients and making it myself.  Plus it is very inexpensive and the service is great.  Brittney, Mary, Carlos, and Isaiah make you feel welcomed and at home.  You will not find this kind of service at IHOP or Baker's Square  Their hash browns are some of the best I have ever had and I love their ham...Mary makes the empanadas herself, and they are not frozen.  On top of that, they cook to order.  They will make you anything you want, if they have it in their kitchen.  Anyone who has eaten breakfast with me can attest to the "make your own concoctions" I create after I look a menu over.  They have made me a hamburger omelet, breakfast Monte Cristo, Italian Sausage omelet, and BLT breakfast sandwich, to mention a few.  Name it and they will make it."


Click here to purchase this painting.

What's your favorite Chicago diner?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 24: Pratt-Howard

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 Wednesday to see the painting completed based on this sketch.

The final mile of Western Avenue is located in West Ridge, one of 77 Chicago community areas. This area seems to be home to an rather diverse population, including Chicago's largest Hasidic community, as well as other Jewish, Irish American, German-American, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Assyrian, Russian, and Korean immigrant communities.

This is reflected in the types of businesses located along this stretch of Western.  Included is the Shari'ah Board of America, whose website was not entirely functional, but I found a blog post which declared, "Need to govern your life by Sharia Law, confused about Sharia rulings? Today is your lucky day as The Sharia Board of America is here to guide you. Just submit your questions online, and wait for the reply. Or if you are in the Chicago area, just drop by."  So, seemingly the Shari'ah Board is a headquarters for the interpretation of the moral code and religious law of Islam.

The neighboring establishments are as varied as Mullen's Sports Bar, U Lucky Dog hot dog stand, and Jessie's Mexican Grill.  

Have you traveled to this most northern portion of Western Avenue?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 23: Peterson-Pratt
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.

I decided to make a painting of Chicago Live Poultry because I was so surprised to discover it as I walked along Western.  As the name implies, it at Chicago Live Poultry, once can have a  live chicken, rooster, hen, rabbit, duck, turkey, pheasant, or pigeon for slaughter in a Zabiha/Halal traditional way. On their website it says, "As you select the product of your choice, we than slaughter it in Zabiha/Halal traditional way, cut & dress it for you with in minutes while you wait."

I haven't ventured in because as a pescetarian, I don't have a need for "live" poultry.  I was fascinated, to read this Yelp review of the Western Avenue storefront:
"My wife and I were headed to our usual meat market when we saw their sign advertising "live" poultry. We decided to go in. As soon as we opened the car door, we felt the overwhelming stink of chicken droppings. Undeterred, we pressed on.

The place was pretty bare. A counter with some pricing information and a few coolers with fresh eggs on the right...As soon as we said we wanted chickens, the gentleman in the front asked us to go in the back. As we were walking back there, we saw the slaughter room to our left. It was cleaner than what I expected. This was probably because they seem to wash it after every order. We saw them wash it down three times during the 20 minutes we were there.

When we got to the back room, we noticed that chickens were very clean looking and were not cramped as we had expected. They have two kinds -- the usual white feathered "farm chicken," and the brown/black feathered "country chicken."

Then it was time to "select" our chickens. I have to admit, we were both a little hesitant to pick the ones to get whacked. The guy must have seen this happen enough times because he instantly realized it and offered to pick them out for us. He picked out 4 chickens, then weighed them in a plastic carton, deducted the weight of the carton, and told us our total...
About ten minutes later, we had our chicken cut up in pieces."


Have you ever selected live poultry for dinner?

Western Avenue Series

Mile 23: Peterson-Pratt

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 Wednesday to see the painting completed based on this sketch.

The portion of Western between Peterson and Pratt feels like a heavily traveled commercial district, particularly the portion of the avenue which crosses Devon Avenue.  Devon has been settled by many immigrant groups, including Orthodox Jews, Russian Americans neighborhood, and near to Western South Asian immigrants.

In addition, this stretch of Western border nearly 90 acres of parkland, Warren Park, which is home to batting cages, a golf course, racquetball court, and in the winter an ice rink!  I was also struck by the Frank Z's car dealership, whose sign makes the claim that it is the "the world's largest" car dealership.

Have you visited the restaurants, sari shops and grocers of Devon?