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!