Thursday, June 18, 2009

Discovering Creativity in Chicago!


This past weekend, I went on the road in search of inspiration, and found myself at the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago with a couple of girlfriends from college. What a fantastic event worth putting on your calendar for next summer! Aside from dodging raindrops, we saw the most interesting variety and range of artistic talent featuring blown glass, sculpture, photography, ceramics, painting and more.

Along the way, I was soon at a stand-still when my eyes caught sight of the impressionistic oil paintings of Eddie Corkery (www.eddiecorkery.com ). His style is a magical balance of loose brush strokes with just the right shadowing and highlights. It takes great skill to master "not over working a painting" and just letting one's eyes connect the colors and fill-in the image. I'm excited to begin populating my "Baby & Child" page on www.thepaintedmemory.com with watercolor paintings that embrace a similar style and oils that make the canvas glow!

The legendary Old Town Art Fair celebrated it's 60th year, featuring 260 nationally acclaimed artists. There was such great energy and visual stimulation for over 50,000 visitors to enjoy. (http://www.oldtowntriangle.com/fair/general_information/index.html)


One aspect of the Art Fair Svea, Christine and I were most taken with were the charming "Gallery of Gardens". Urban home owners opened their doors and garden gates for art lovers to stroll through at their leisure. With such intrigue we wandered through small brick, slate, or gravel walkways and miniature patios where colorful flowers lined their border and boasted of the warm weather that had finally arrived in the Windy City!

What fun memories, and diverse inspiration. Please stop back for future updates featuring the world of design that is all around us!

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

December Wedding Bliss

Painting a winter bouquet for my friend, Page, was such fun. I loved all the details of her special day, and capturing the whimsy of her dress and church made for the perfect wedding series.