20. Seattle Sunset

A little over three years ago, I moved from Baltimore to rural west Alabama. I spent a week between the two places in Seattle with my sister. The trip evolved from what had initially been planned as a road trip from Alaska to Kansas City in a Volvo coupe circa 1964. When the over-ambition of that trip, in light of time constraints, became apparent, it was scaled back to a delightful week spent in Seattle. This painting was made from a photograph we took on the first evening of our trip. As we explored the area near to where we were staying, in Seattle's Capital Hill neighborhood, I was totally delighted by this image of the sunset with the space needle and the water in the distance. I was interested as I made this painting at the amount of information, which can be conveyed with a simple painting: a wash for the sky and monochrome outlines of objects.

19. Baltimore Street

For two years I lived in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. I feel incredible nostalgia for the neighborhood's beautiful square, elegant homes, pride week high heel race, and one of my very favorite restaurants, Iggies!

Really once I start talking about Mt. Vernon, it's hard for me to stop. It's rare that you find a neighborhood with so many of the city's cultural centers: the Walters Art Museum, the Peabody Conservatory, the main branch of the Baltimore public library system, the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the U.S., and Centerstage. As if that wasn't enough the neighborhood has an incredibly beautiful central square, the center piece of which is Baltimore's Washington Monument. This square hosts a number of great events like the yearly flower mart, the monument lighting at Christmas, and my favorite, the Baltimore Book Festival. In addition to all of that there is a great variety of bars and restaurants in the neighborhood including the Helmand a great Afghani restaurant, Brewer's Art, which offers amazing garlic rosemary fries, and as Baltimore's gay neighborhood a variety of gay bars and clubs including gay bingo at the Hippo.

There is much more I could say about Mt. Vernon, but one of my favorite things about my former home was just walking around. This painting is of a street scene in Mt. Vernon--beautiful architecture, the trees blooming, and the sun shining. I spent many a contented afternoon strolling the streets of my corner of Baltimore and I reveled in those memories as I made this painting.

18. Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower

This painting will be donated to the Zebra Ball and for sale at the event's silent auction on Saturday, February 13, 2010. The Zebra Ball, which takes place in Chicago, benefits the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation. It was launched by Sharon Devereaux, the mother of a childhood friend, whose own mother has been diagnosed with carcinoid cancer. It has been a pleasure to attend the event the last two years and to donate paintings to the silent auction. I marveled as I painted this image at Chicago's extraordinary architecture and the resulting compositions. It is amazing that Chicago is a city where, in a glance, one can see the gleaming white clock tower of the Wrigley Building and the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower.

Searching for Images of Chicago to Love

In writing recently about Baltimore (where I lived for several years) I wrote this:

As a watercolor painter I find the images of Baltimore completely captivating. In contrasting Charm City with it nearest counterpart Washington D.C., I often used the words gritty and industrial. Those words unfairly flatten the depth of the city’s character. The visibility and aesthetic pleasure of Baltimore’s history, in the urban landscape, makes for extraordinary compositions. I have quite contentedly painted the Domino Sugar Factory and the Mr. Boh sign and wondered at the nostalgia I felt for these neon advertisements. They are simultaneously iconic reminders of Baltimore’s historic and contemporary industry, beautiful, wholly associated with the place, and part of Baltimore’s identity in the present, which feels personal.

Basically, I am searching for Chicago's "Mr. Boh sign" and "Domino Sugar Factory." What are the iconic images that represent my present home, images about which Chicagoans feel nostalgic and which are unexpectely beautiful? I am, at present, working on a painting of some beautiful Chicago buildings, but I am always searching for those images that feel "completely Chicago." I would be very amenable to accepting suggestions if anyone out there would like to leave a comment about a Chicago image that has stolen your heart.

I leave you with my favorite words about Chicago and my own words about Baltimore. Nelson Algren, said that loving Chicago, is "Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real." I would say of Baltimore that it is like falling in love unexpectedly, you may well find a more perfect lover. But never have you been so charmed.

17. Lincoln

Living in the "Land of Lincoln," in the city of Chicago, Lincoln (at least in name) is part of your daily life. In Chicago, there is Lincoln Park (a park) which runs along the lake for a large portion of the northside, Lincoln Park (a neighborhood), Lincoln Square (another neighborhood), Lincoln Ave., no shortage of references to our 16th President. This year as we are celebrating the bicentennial of his birth, his image and story are even more omnipresent. You can even "get Lincolnized." So, I feel a certain nostalgia about him, our relationship seems a bit more personal than my relationship with most former presidents who were born 200 years ago.

16. Farias House

This image is the childhood home of my Peruvian friend, Carlos. I had the pleasure of visiting the Farias home soon after my friend Beth married Carlos, in 2005. It was a delight to visit Lima, explore Barranco (the neighborhood where the Farias family lives), and especially to experience the generous hospitality of the whole Farias clan. Now, about four years later, Beth and Carlos are expecting their first baby. Several months ago, Beth told me that they are planning to paint the baby's room the same color yellow as Carlos's Peruvian home. Also, they plan to paint a blue and white "Liliana" (the baby's name) over the door, just as Carlos's great-grandfather painted his wife's name, "Victoria," over the door to his home. This inspired me to make this painting for Lily, my future Goddaughter. I wanted her to always have a special image of her Peruvian home. In making this painting, I found myself challenged to make an architectural rendering feel "nursery-appropriate." I tried to accomplish this with some whimsical clouds, blue skies, and playful colors.

15. Manistee, Michigan

Over Labor day weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the family cottage of a Chicago friend, in Manistee, MI. It was a wonderfully relaxing and delightful weekend filled with laying on the beach, swimming, trampoline jumping, delicious food, shuffleboard, and friends! I did this painting sitting in front of cottage looking out over Lake Michigan, at sunset. This painting reinforces one of the challenges of watercolor, which is that it can not always be done quickly. Often a wash must dry before proceeding in order to acheive the desired effect. Therefore, the medium is not entirely ideal for painting time-sensitive events like sunsets! It was delightful none the less to sit and paint the sunset and to sit and imagine the sunset as I completed the painting the following day.