Western Avenue Series

Mile 8: 66th-58th Street
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 was drawn to paint Wing Hung Restaurant to represent this mile of Western because with its large colorful sign, it seems begging to be seen.  That sentiment feels typical of this stretch of Western, which is densely populated by commercial establishments: the large Marquette Bank building, clothing stores, restaurants, insurance brokers and other businesses abound.  This feels like a commercial strip at the heart of this portion of the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.  


Click here to purchase this painting.


Where are the commercial centers where you live?

Other Projects

Teaching Watercolor

Starting this Wednesday, June 1st, I'm going to be teaching a watercolor class at Rumble Arts, in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.  Rumble Arts is an all ages, multicultural, community arts organization serving Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.  

From the Rumble Arts website, "We offer donation based classes in art, music, dance, yoga, martial arts, writing, and performance in addition to special workshops and cultural events. By providing educational opportunities for all ages, we actively cultivate an environment where entire families can come together to learn, teach, and play under the same roof.

Our open door policy and sliding scale fees are designed to make it as easy as possible to walk right off the street into a rewarding educational experience, regardless of financial means."

I'm really excited to be teaching a class at Rumble Arts, which will provide foundational techniques for beginning watercolor painters, as well as develop the confidence and abilities of participants experienced in the medium.  Students will explore methods of mixing colors, applying washes, and using tones and values in composition.  Activities will encourage students to explore varied techniques from representational work to loose, fluid abstracts.  Projects might include still lifes, landscapes, portraiture and figure painting.

Come by this Wednesday or any Wednesday, 6-8pm, for fun with watercolor painting!

Featured Artist

Devika Keskar

Devika Keskar has always created opportunities in her life to keep the artistic and creative flame in her burning.  She was born and raised in India, and had an early and enduring interest in art.  After getting a degree in Architecture, she moved to the United States where she earned a degree in Urban Design.  While working as an architect Devika continued to develop her artistic skills and vision.  Her artistic endeavors have been numerous, experimenting with pottery and ceramics, oil painting as well as painting and stenciling children's furniture.  Recently, a long stay in India provided Devika the opportunity to reconnect with her desire to create art.

What techniques do you typically use when you are painting?
I use a lot of layering in my paintings.  Sometimes I use different materials like butter paper and/or newspaper to create the layers, while at other times its many many washes of color one on top of the other, which give my work depth and a multi-layered look.  Stippling, scratching, dripping are all very much part of my work too!

Are there particular artists who inspire your work?  
There are so many great artists whose work I admire very much.  One who comes to mind right away is contemporary Indian artist Anki Khurana.  The organic nature of her work and the fluidity in it is awesome.

Are there new themes or mediums you anticipate exploring in your upcoming work?
At some point in time I want to experiment with encaustic (hot wax) painting.  Also, I'd like to work on a series of modern abstract paintings loosely based on traditional Indian sari designs.

Many thanks for Devika for sharing her work.

What do you think of Devika's paintings?

Wedding Invitation

Wildflowers & Wheat in a Mason Jar

I have recently completed another variation of the flowers in a mason jar invitation for a couple who will wed in Kansas City.  Through the completion of a number of iterations of flower in a mason jar, I have researching a bit and discovered that there is a John Denver song called Flowers in a Mason Jar.  Here are the lyrics:

January back in '55 we rode a Greyhound bus through the Georgia midnight
Grandpa was sleeping and the winter sky was clear
We hit a bump and his head jerked back a little and he mumbled something
He woke up smiling but his eyes were bright with tears he said...

I dreamed I was back on the farm
Twenty years have passed boy
But the memory still warms me
Wild flowers in a mason jar

He told me those old stories 'bout that one room cabin in Kentucky
The smell of rain and the feel of the warm earth in his hands
He slowly turned and stared outside
His face was mirrored in the window
And his reflection flew across the moonlit land
And he dreamed he was back on the farm
He tilts his head and listens to the early sounds of morning
Wild flowers in a mason jar

An old man and an eight year old boy
Rolling down that midnight highway
Warm Kentucky memories from a winter Georgia night
I started drifting off and Grandpa tucked his coat around me
I think I tried to smile as I slowly closed my eyes
And I dreamed I was with him on the farm
Grandpa, I can hear the evening wind out in the corn
Wild flowers in a mason jar and the bus rolling through the night

Western Avenue Series

Mile 8: 66th-58th Street
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 completed based on this sketch.

This mile has a vitality which is similar to the portion of Western located just south.  There is a good deal more pedestrian traffic than I found in other portion of the avenue, as well as a large number of commercial businesses.  The neighborhood of Chicago Lawn is a descendent of the city of Chicago Lawn, which was in 1871 and annexed in 1889.  It was mostly farmland until the 1920s when the neighborhood saw a large population increase. In 1941, the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) announced plans to build a huge bakery in Chicago Lawn. When completed, this was the largest bakery in one location in the world. 

The Lithuanian community has maintained a notable presence in the area by establishing a network of institutions that earned their community the label as the Lithuanian Gold Coast. Chicago's changing racial demographics had a profound impact on Chicago Lawn. In the 1960s most white residents had fled Englewood and West Englewood and Chicago Lawn became a target for civil rights groups' open housing marches. In 1966 a march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., into Marquette Park.  Violence also erupted in the neighborhood when Gage Park High School attempted to integrate after Brown v. Board of Education. The primary resistance to integration came from fear of declining property values by people who put their life savings into their homes and disruption of ethnic bonds, especially for the Lithuanians. Some Irish, Poles, and Lithuanians still remain, though most have moved further south and west.  By 1990, Blacks comprised 52.9% of the population, while Hispanic groups accounted for 35.1%.

How has the neighborhood where you live changed over time?

Other Projects

Grilled Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

Summer is coming to Chicago...slowly.  As seems typical, we haven't had a tremendously warm spring, but we remain hopeful that warm summer days are right around the corner.  With that hopefulness, I find myself daydreaming of picnics at Millenium Park concerts, promentary point, Chicago Botanic Garden, or Ravinia.  And, these sandwiches, from Joy of Cooking All About Vegetarian, are among the best picnic meals around because all the ingredients can be prepared in advance and the resulting combination is extraordinary.  So, with anticipation of warm summer nights, I am sharing the recipe for a delectable picnic.

Preheat Broiler.

Combine:

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar

1-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into strips about 1/4" thick

Cut crosswise into 1/2"-thick slices:

1 medium eggplant 

Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with:

2 tbsps olive oil

Broil the eggplant 4" from the heat just until tender, about 4 minutes each side.  Remove from the heat.  Split in half horizontally:

Four 4-inch squares focaccia (recipe below)

Spread the bottom halves generously with:

Tapenade (recipe below)

Arrange on top:

4 ounces slices fresh mozzarella or crumble feta or goat cheese

1 large ripe tomato, sliced

Divide the eggplant and the pepper mixture on top and cover with the top halves of the focaccia.  Press together gently and serve.

Focaccia

Divide in half and roll each piece out to a 1/2"-thick round:

Basic pizza dough

Transfer these to well-oiled 10-inch cake pans.  Let rise covered with plastic wrap for 1 1/2 hours.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Ten minutes before baking, dimple the dough with your fingertips and drizzle evenly with:

Olive oil (as much as 1/2 cup)

Top with:

Dried herbs or course sea salt

Bake the focaccia until golden, about 25 minutes.  Remove from the pans to cool on the rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Tapenade (Caper Olive Paste)

Combine in a food processor:

2 cups black olives, preferably oil cured, pitted

3 tbsps drained capers

3 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsps brandy or lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, coursly chopped

2 tsps fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried

salt and ground pepper to tast

Pulse until the mixture is till course but of a uniform consistency.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite picnic fare?

Featured Artist

Barbara Rosenzweig

Barbara Rosenzweig studied at Philadelphia's School Art League, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Tyler School of Fine Arts. During her 36 years as a science teacher at the Upper Moreland Middle School in Hatboro, PA, her philosophy was to instill a deep joy for learning, along with an appreciation of the natural world. As an artist, she creates vividly colored watercolors inspired by the flowers in her gardens. Her extensive travels also afford her endless subjects to paint.

Strawberries, Jelly Jar, & Shakers, watercolor, 8"x10," Barbara Rosenzweig

More about Barbara in her own words, "I love gardening outside of Philly, PA, have been doing it for over 40 years, and love each flower's intense colors and textures! I have absolutely no choice but to try to capture their beauty in my watercolors. Travel, too, gives me inspiring landscapes to paint. I'm a mom to two grown daughters and a wife to a man who puts up with all of the time I devote to painting. 

Eggs & Bowls, watercolor, 11"x14," Barbara Rosenzweig

Throughout my adult life, whether dishes were piled high in the sink or papers needed to be graded , I took time out to indulge my creativity. In winter, I have perpetual sunshine in my studio. The reason? The rest of the year, I take photos of my flowers and travels to paint all winter long. The rest of the year, continue to paint. What a wonderful way to spend a lifetime! 

Anjou Pears, watercolor, 11"x14," Barbara Rosenzweig

Watercolors express my joy and love of nature's vitality! Bright, vivid colors are what excite me most when I paint! At times, I like to express the peace that comes when I'm immersed in a magnificent landscape.

Strawberries & Silver Salt Shakers, watercolor, 8"x10" Barbara Rosenzweig

Many thanks to Barbara for sharing her fantastic paintings.

What do you think of these still lifes?