Race Day

May Sketchbook
Watercolor and Ink

Well, practice really does make you better. This year, Craig and I shaved a hour off our Des Plaines River canoe marathon time and finished a shade over 4 1/2 hours. Of course, the river was a foot and a half over it's usual flow and that might have been a factor, but I prefer to believe that Craig and I have aquired more muscle power over last year.;>)



Des Plaines River
May Sketchbook
Watercolor and ink

These are a few sketches I'm going to work on for a larger painting. The larger versions will have to wait a bit. I have a deadline of the end of June to finish 20 drawings for my Tools of the Trade Project.

Here is a look at the re branding I did during the Spring. I now have new stationary in addition to these new business cards. I'm surprised at how often I use them! I feel so grown up.

Gone Canoin'

This peaceful view of a restored lock is in very sharp contrast to the
modern lock on the Illinois River I've written about over at the Watermarks blog. Craig and I strapped old Leaky on the car and headed out of town for the weekend.
Canoing on this quiet, narrow canal, was really beautiful. You can read about this history of the I and M canal here.



On our return trip, we saw this restored canal boat, complete with costumed crew and dispirited donkey hauling the boat along for tourists. Personally, I could not have been happier in our own little canoe, though we did have to slow down a bit so as not to rock their boat with our wake.;)






Craig and I girded our loins and dipeed our paddle into the mighty Illinois River. The barge traffice is a bit intimidating and on the day we were paddling, we had a stiff wind to add an extra measure of challange. It was empowering to take such a small boat out on this very large river. It made me think about Lewis and Clark's
historic cross country paddle.I have even greater respect for them all after our brush with the great Illinois.(This sounds like a good title for a future post and maybe a future group paddle.(C and K are you up for it?)



You can see just where we were on the canal and how it fed into the Illinois River here.


I'm taking some time off from blogging for a bit.

The marathon is approaching.

The Beamish Boy graduates from college and we are preparing to be festive and also haul his stuff home.Also entertaining out of town guests. (R this means you!!!)

School term has ended and I'm knee deep in grading.(pant pant)

New art show next week in the station. More info on the other blog shortly.

Much to my horror and dismay, I've having a reaction to oil paints. Most annoying after having invested in both alkyds and expensive M. Grahams. I have alternative ideas brewing but not until I have myself a good old fashoined snit. ARGGGGG.

Waterways Project: New Work

Des Plaines River May 09
4"x4"
Oil on Canvas

Yesterday, Craig and I did a 12 mile pre-marathon canoe trip. The Des Plaines River is still at flood stage so we visited one of our favorite launch sites on the Chicago River. The Chicago River is less affected by local flooding and often the Water Reclamation District will open the locks to drain some of the overflow into Lake Michigan, temporarily allowing the river to follow it's natural course.


View canoe launch on Chicago River in a larger map

Here are some more oil experiments. I'm very excited about trying some new ways to express my love of watery things.


Riverside
4" x 4"
oil on canvas





Lake Michigan
4"x 4"
oil on canvas

Advice for Urban Artists

Bridge Opening Day
Chicago River
Spring


Paris, London, Chicago, Sydney, San Paolo, Madrid,Tokyo,Moscow, Athens, San Francisco, Mexico City, Tunisia.....

As the weather warms up, many of us will be headed to our favorite urban destinations to sketch and make art. This article in the New York Times last week had me a bit concerned. An artist was cuffed and detained because she was gathering visual information for a painting project around power lines. There is usually a story behind such events that does not make it into the paper so I wanted to find out the other side.

I went to the font of practical law enforcement wisdom,Second City Cop, for advice and their take on this situation. My question to them was how can we as artists show respect for law enforcement and still do our jobs on the street. This blog, run anonymously by several off duty Chicago Cops takes pride in presenting the often ignored advice of the rank and file, much to the annoyance of management and government alike.

Reader advisory: This site is not for the easily offended. Expect "colorful" language, blunt talk and crisp, pithy writing. I'm instructed to also remind you that SCC does not offer this advice as the official "management" opinion. However, these officer are giving advice from their years of combined experience on the street.



A little preparation in both attitude and choice of location will help create an atmosphere of cooperation between our two professions.Artist's and terrorists use similar equipment: sketchbooks, camers and such.

Here's what SCC suggests:

"If observing some structure or facility that has obvious security concerns or "value" as a target, we'd clear actions with building managers, on-site security and local District or Precinct police. Is it a hassle? Yup. But in a post 9/11 world, every one's adapting to the new reality.

Above all, realize where the police and security people are coming from. They are answering for the safety of hundreds, maybe thousands of people. While we appreciate drawing and photography for the art it is, it has to be balanced against legitimate concerns that don't always mesh with the intentions of the artist and the concerns of those tasked with public safety. Confrontation for confrontation's sake isn't going to help anyone. Well thought out discussions preceded by some decent preparation with local authorities or security would alleviate misunderstanding ten-folds."


I'd also add that if your city is hosting a sketching event, or when you know of an upcoming date for the World Wide Sketchcrawls, notifying police in your city would be a really nice way to do your part to support them in their work of protecting all of us.

If you do get questioned about your activity by law enforcement, this is your chance to represent out profession. Police deserve all the support and respect we can give them for putting their lives on the line every day for us. Brighten their day by showing them your sketches too. Who knows, you might meet a fellow artist.