Chicago Trip, Part Two: Art Institute of Chicago / Gustave Caillebotte

Chicago has an amazing (and ginormous) art museum named the Art Institute of Chicago. I've visited it before, but not for quite some time, and I forgot how big it is and how one can find something from any time for any mood and interest! We spent around 5 hours there, and apart from a quick lunch all this time was packed! 

But the highlight was the current exhibit of Gustave Caillebotte - one of my art heroes! To see so many works in one place, experience in person slight variations of color, be in the presence of expressive brushstrokes - this was a gift! I am fascinated with the way he worked with light, how he builds compositions. With conversations between bodies in his art, with integration of people into environments, and all of that with the simultaneously serious and playful feeling that comes from his works! He lived a short but very interesting life, left a large city to live in a suburb, and stopped trying to get into the Art Salon but continued painting. He was a gardener, worked on textile design, collected stamps, designed and built yachts, sailed them, and he supported other artists. What a life! 






Chicago Trip, Part One: The Bean.

I found a perfect place to sketch near the Cloud Gate, aka the Bean, in the Millennium Park in Chicago.  The Bean is a public art sculpture that I haven't had a chance to draw, and with only 24 hours of free time in the city, and the Chicago Art Institute opening at 11 am and located a few hundred feet from the Bean, it was an obvious plan :) I did 1/2 of the sketch while perched on a parapet, but then had to get down as a guard did not agree with my idea that sketching is a reason to break rules :)
I will be posting about my museum outing and class at the Chicago Urban Sketchers Seminar in separate posts.



An accidental Bouquet

I picked up a branch of sea lavender on my walk - someone broke it off and left it on the pavement. And then the wind overturned my petunia plant, and one branch snapped off. Between these two, I had a lovely flower arrangement on my kitchen table for some time - a perfect opportunity to test some materials :)




Sea Lavender

I am a big fan of Sea Lavender, also known as marsh rosemary or Limonium (it has nothing to do with lavender, rosemary, or lemons despite the names!). And since this is a very drought-resistant plant (and some are even native to California), I almost always can find one blooming near me. But right now, they are at their peak everywhere!



Nonagenarian Update: Big Birthday!

Our Nonagenarian turned 96! We celebrated with some ice cream, and she had some good laughs and asked many questions about our lives - are we still cooking at home? Does everyone have a job? Is everyone healthy? :) Her fig tree is in good shape, and jasmine is blooming right now. The bird feeder brings lots of visitors. And several onions are growing on the balcony next to a marigold and a rose.