Finally got off the couch...

 

and went out sketching today. Parked my car in a parking lot at Cermak and Central and spent about 2 hours sketching this. 5" x 7" Pencil and watercolor.

My first post!

Hello!  I joined Urban Sketchers Chicago in May, and I am so happy I found them!  I love the fact that an Urban Sketcher can travel to all parts of the globe and find sketching friends everywhere.

That said, my sister and I traveled all the way to Springfield, Illinois last week.  I did not meet any urban sketchers, but I did a little sketch on the train.  Maybe next year we will go farther afield - but there are always things to sketch, even from the kitchen window!

On the train

View from kitchen

Sketch Outing at Navy Pier, Chicago

Sunny and almost 70 degrees. I used Tombow water soluble brush markers for this sketch of the Pier and boats. Here's a link to the history of Navy Pier: http://www.navypier.com/about/history.html. Here's a morsel from the history website.

In 1942
Pilot training orientation commenced at Navy Pier. Eventually, 15,000 pilots were qualified for military service, including a young airman named George H.W. Bush, the future President of the United States. As many as 200 WWII planes still rest at the bottom of Lake Michigan as a result of accidents during training.
 

The importance of being Frank

Frank Lloyd Wright, that is...

This is a sketch of Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oak Park IL. We sketched it at our September USK Chicago meet.

I almost did not publish this one. It is an OK sketch, I've done better... But this one was liked and commented on through the roof on various Facebook groups because it is Frank Lloyd Wright. The name and the structure are so important and recognizable that even I got to ride on the coattails of his fame with my little sketch. Not too bad of a sketch though...

Thank Frank

These are little sketches done at our recent USk Chicago meet. So much to see and so much to take in, I opted to sketch some of the details on the Chicago Avenue side of his home and studio. The first is one of the sculptures above the walkway to the hidden door. The second  is of the tourists and the reliefs that line the walkway. The third is a detail of the reliefs – the repeated stork motif and lastly a rough rendition of the logo.

Now I must go back to Oak Park and actually sketch Wright's glorious buildings! There was so much to take in at once.  In a five block area there are about seven houses designed or remodeled by Wright. What a feast for the eyes and imagination. The overall feeling of his work is monumental but his attention to detail is what really amazed me. It was a quite a day!

And thanks to the visitor from Manchester UK who took our picture! Safe and happy travels!

Belated Introduction -

My name is Carole Hennessy and I am a watercolor artist living in Chicago. I am out regularly to sketch and paint with Barbara and the Monday Sketch Group but have not yet been able to make it to one of the Urban Sketchers outings. I was always a studio painter until 8 years ago when I finally decided to try some plain air work and figured out what worked best for me. Now my outdoor works helps to inspire my studio practice. I enjoy the challenges working on location brings and the interaction with my fellow artists and the public. The painting shown here is from a recent visit to Olive Park, what a lovely day!

51 of my recent small watercolors will be part of an exhibit opening at the Chicago Artists Coalition Gallery, 217 N. Carpenter St, Chicago, on Friday, September 14 thru October 2. The opening reception is Friday from 6-9 pm. The gallery will be open weekdays 9-5, Saturdays 12-6 and also on Sunday, September 23, when we will be doing demos. Mine is scheduled for 12-1 that day.

Back to the Bean

It was"back to the Bean"in more ways than one. This week our Monday sketch group met at the Bean in Millennium Park. I've sketched there several times this summer so this time I chose a different point of view. I sat with my back to the sculpture. A beautiful day, great company and sketching – a delightful start to the week!