Lake Michigan Series # 5

Lake Michigan # 5
oil pastel on American Masters Paper
22 x 30"


A close up crop


I'm working on several things this week. Yesterday I met with the press at the Police Station to discuss the department art gallery project. It was actually fun when I got over my fear. (Wanting to avoid at all costs, sounding like Sarah Palin!).Three news papers were represented and fired questions at Chief Taknsley and I like rubber bands. I think the the Chief and I explained things very well and hope it gets some publicity for the project. My hope is that other artist's will set up shows like one and get art out of the studio and out in the world. I'll know in a couple of weeks if there are any stories.

I'm applying to the Bradley International Prints and Drawing exhibition this year. Here is a link for this year'sshow. I'm submitting three works on paper that are a small series I'm doing on Lake Michigan. They started life as the organza paintings but I've re-done them onto very large paper. I used the masking technique explained in an earlier post. I like this format because it shows the paper and the drawing as an art object in and of itself. It also saves me from the dreaded mat cutting of a more conventional framing approach. This is the first formal art show I've entered since doing my 3d pieces 8 years ago. Fingers crossed.

I have other projects brewing but I'll save them for a future post.

Waterways Project: Trip Down the Kishwaukee River

Our small car has a rather humorously positioned "cap" when we strap "Leaky Cauldron" on to the top.



Craig and I and our canoing partners in crime, Kelly and Cliff planned a trip down the Kishwaukee River this month. Cliff, unfortunately had to stiffen his upper lip and head to work unexpectedly that day but the three of use piled into the car and headed out to the Rockford area to begin our trip. The Kishwaukee is a class A river boasting some of the cleanest water in our area. All us us were impressed with the quiet and the lack of development on the river. By the time we arrived, the river was running 2 feet above it's normal levels and we all had to have our wits about us. The current, when running this fast, can really challenge inexperienced paddlers. We heard stories of canoes bent in half when paddlers got hung up on branches and the post flood current bending the boat.Under normal conditions, the river would be much easier to navigate.The river has launch sites every 3- five miles: same of them not as developed as others but most offer manageable beach launches.


River photo l




River 2




bridge

We were surprised to see this elegant bridge spanning the river. It gives you an idea of the scale of the river.

Flying Pictures

This is my contribution to Nina's book:Polychromatic. I gathered these leaves on a hike in California when we visited Cambria. The trail wound around the ocean along a rocky bluff. All the colors are so different there from what I'm used to seeing in our area. The light was very clear and very strong. Very inspiring.
Once again, Robyn's wonderful photography shows my work to much better advantage than my own photograph. I wonder if my photos would look better if I took them in her Italian back yard. Thanks Robyn!!
View the Flying Picture Project here.

Waterways Project: September Flooding

Last week Craig and I were beginning to wonder if we might have to use old "Leaky"
for an evacuation from all the flooding. With the rain pounding our area from not one but two hurricane remnants, our waterways were flooded yet again up to the "100 year " flood levels. This time water levels were even higher than the 1987 flood.
So here are a few scenes from the area I snapped a few days after the rain stopped.

Thatcher Woods parking lot
All of Chicago Avenue was under water for several days and all of the roads that crossed the Des Plains River were also closed.




Madison Street Bridge



Cemetery at Madison Street

Lake Michigan Series #1

graphite and oil pastel
12" x 12"

This image was developed by using the mono print left from the previous pink organza painting. I'm really enjoying this 12 x 12 format lately. This is the first in a series of Lake Michigan paintings I'm working on right now. I'm working from memory, photos and sketches.

Waterways Project: Submerged

Waterways Project: Submerged
oil stick and graphite
Image size 5" x 20"

This is an image that's related to our assignment in my drawing class this week. We learned how to mask of a very large sheet of paper (22" x 30") and protect the whole surface from any media contamination. It was lots of fun to unveil the drawing from under all that brown paper and masking tape. The drawing sits as a jewel in the middle of the page. I'm not showing the page surrounding the drawing here because I had to Photo Shop the image and I haven't figured out how to add in a border around the image.


Here is the un Photo Shopped view of the large drawing. I'm using this process and the 12 x 12 format to develope a series of Lake Michigan drawings.


The drawing is loosely based on both a piece of re embroidered lace and the idea of what's under the surface of the river. It's subtle colors and ensized lines are hardly visible on line. The small top part of the drawing has subtle white lines ensized into the surface. I really like how oil sticks behave and they have a nice advantage of completely dryig as opposed to oil pastels that never dry.

Waterways Project: Lake Michigan

oil pastel on silk organza mounted on paper

Well, my experiments on silk organza are moving along. This one is oil pastel mounted with PVA glue on to printing paper. The surface holds lots of material and does not blend as well as ordinary paper. The trade off is that mark making can be bold and brash. I wonder if this surface would work well for soft pastels too?



oil pastel on silk organza

This surface is just the organza thumb tacked to a piece of print making paper. I removed just the organza layer here. I love this effect but am still trying to figure out how to document it. Scanning tends to pull out more of the weave of the cloth than shows to the naked eye. This is a photograph of it with white paper behind. I intend to frame it in double glass with double mats somehow....I want the light to filter through the drawing from both sides. This is the problem of working with unconventional surfaces.....how the present the darn things.

James Prosek's "Fly Fishing The 41st"

Sketchbook idea for a Lake Michigan Series I'm planning


Earlier this summer, I read Mark Twain's "Life on The Mississippi" and loved the sense of adventure. I'm half way through another river adventure book: "Fly Fishing The 41st". This seasoned artist, fisher of trout, and gifted writer traveled around the world on the 41st parallel seeking native trout. Here are the locations on the 41st parallel: Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Japan and of Prosek's home town in Connecticut. Trout can only be found in the most pristine of rivers and ones that run cold. The cold water holds the high dissolved oxygen content that that these elusive fish need. I heard about him through this program on Public Radio:

Interview

You can see his work here:James Prosek's Web Page

Information on his books can be found here:books including Fly Fishing the 41st

Since March, I've been working in my sketchbook and following my muse. The muse has said to work on site and small for the moment and I've obeyed. This fall I've signed up for a creative drawing class and I think things are about to get shaken up again.
Our first assignment was to change the support we use. I'm trying out some experiments with silk organza as a surface. These experiments are leading me toward maybe a series of paintings on Lake Michigan. I'll probably have time to do these in January when I have my winter break at school.Here's a peek in my class sketchbook and my experiments with organza.


Experiments with Silk Organza (fabric layer only)



Experiments with Silk Organza (accidental mono print achieved by working ops on the porous surface of the organza on to print making paper below.)

Last August Sketchbook Page

oil pastel and graphite

This is the last Cambria sketch...sniff sniff. Vacation seems so far away!

Flying Pictures Project

Collage and watercolor

I can finally post this photo of my work in Glen's book. I am so grateful for Vivien's suggestion of attaching separate pages as the books rotate. It has allowed me so much freedom to create work that stretches me. I did these lillies when we came home from Cambria, California. The light was changing and leaning towards fall. I was thinking about how the Japanese, in landscape paintings try to evoke not only the current season but subtly suggest the one to come. I'm leaning toward fall with this summer burst of blossoms.

Flying Pictures Project

Glen's site Check out her wonderful blurb artist's books!

Ronell could use a little cheering up.

Have a peek at Vivien's blog today for some fun color play.

Nina's turning green!!


Robyn's basket of summer bounty looks as good as it must taste.

Casey is also into garden harvest's and making me wish I had planted one or two tomato plants

Oil Pastel Society Show

Root River January 08


The Oil Pastel Society's annual on line show is open and yours truly has had two Waterway Paintings accepted. You can see those paintings and more here. Be sure to check out both pages of work.

Waterways Project: The Salt Creek

The Des Plains 7/08




The Salt Creek, 9/08



Craig recently razzed me about the number of similar photos I'm taking. He thinks that having more than several hundred photos of each waterways in the same time of the year is a bit much. Now I dare you to tell me that these two views of the Salt Creek and the Des Plains River look the same.....Well, OK. He has a point. I'm obsessed with the need to document!

This week, we found a secret little paddle of singular beauty and quiet. The Salt Creek north of Brookfield provided shade (it's narrower than the Des Plains) and cleaner water than we've seen in other areas waterways. It was also the quietest paddle we've had close to home.

At this time of year, the rivers are all very low and Craig and I got a chance to try out some of our fancy paddling skills while avoiding strainers (downed trees with long branches) and sand bars. We did get hung up a bit but the trip was well worth any effort. North of this launch, we ran parallel to the Brookfield Zoo and saw not one but two hawks, lots of Great Blue Herons, water plants, fish, two ambling wood chucks and the cleanest water to date. Brookfield Zoo,through whose land we paddled , exercises good stewardship of the land that borders the creek. (South of the launch the sights and smells of dumped sewage was really gross.That part of the creek is a mess.)

The Salt Creek runs parallel to the Des Plains River and eventually joins it at Ogden and 22ND street. We put in at Brookflield Village Hall which has a slightly developed launch. I'd advise going 200 feet north, right near the basket ball hoop and putting in on a flatter beach launch. It's not developed but you won't have to negotiate that steep bank.

Click here to see where we put in. You can see that south of the launch, the two waterways join.

Cambria Sketchbook: View from the Bluff

oil pastels and graphite


Those of you who read this blog regularly know how much I love artist's journals and sketchbooks. As a counter point to my recent activities with law enforcement,I thought I'd recommend this book/journal :Kesey's Jail Journal . (As in Ken Kesey of the psychedelic 60's) Kesey has surprisingly vivid illustrated pages in this journal and not surprisingly well written entries. It's a sort of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride meets minimum security jail.