The 'Overlapping Grids' Series Continues

Three new drawings in the what I am now calling 'Overlapping Grids' series. All drawings are on Arches watercolor paper sized at 40 x 26 inches. Media is: acrylic paint and pencil.

Michael McGuire - Overlapping Grids #9

Michael McGuire - Overlapping Grids #10

Michael McGuire - Overlapping Grids #7

And then three photos I made the other day on a foggy bike ride up to the gallery. I think they relate to the drawings.

Just Back From Puerto Rico

I have a new camera and shot quite a bit on my recent trip to Puerto Rico. Below are a few black and white photos, with flash, emphasizing the graphic nature of the security gates that most buildings sport in San Juan. Beautiful, and yet a clear sign of the state of the Puerto Rican economy. I felt as safe there as I do in Chicago, but the urban infrastructure has taken a beating, both from the environment (tropical), and the financial situation.

Home Late, Thought I'd Blog

Just home from a Holiday weekend party, have a bit of a buzz on. Before turning in, I found a memory stick that contained photos of old work and images of ideas that I had not executed. I have not really looked at most of these things in years.

Thought I'd share them with you as I enjoyed them tonight, jumping from image to image, no real narrative or conceptual thread, except they were all concocted by the same person. And of course, Happy Memorial Day, thinking of all that serve and have served out country.

Digital File - 'The Fatigue  of Memory #4'

Digital File - 'The Fatigue or Memory #6'

Digital File - 'We Welcome Our Alien Overlords #2'

Digital File - 'Night Train, March 22, 2013'

Drawing - India Ink on Paper - 'Branches 17'

Digital Photograph - 'Magic Hedge Black and White 6'

Digital Photograph - 'Underpass Near Belmont Avenue, Chicago' 

Drawings - India Ink on Stonehenge Paper - 'Symmetrical Hosta Studies'

Crosshatch Drawing - 2009

Watercolor Drawing - Untitled

Digital File  

Crosshatch Drawing

Drawing - India Ink, Molowtow Acrylic Paint Pen, Arches Watercolor Paper

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

It was one of those mornings when everything was out of sync - awake too early, scratchy throat, and it was beginning to snow. The final indignity was missing my bus by 20 seconds despite the app on my phone assuring me I had another two minutes until it arrived. A snowy Sunday morning, and of course the next bus was not due for another 25 minutes. I had a good five minutes of feeling sorry for myself, not sure why that feels so good, but walked to the train and was heading up to my studio pretty quickly. It was while riding the train that I realized what a beautiful morning it was. The snow was just beginning to collect in some areas, and the city was deserted and quiet. I happily stared out the window, mesmerized by the landscape the entire fifteen minute trip.

The problem with taking the train to my studio is once I arrive at my stop (Berwyn) I still have a walk of five blocks, which at times can be a little dreary. But, in actuality it was a good day for a walk. Yesterday in the studio someone had asked me about an old panoramic photograph of mine that depicted a wall of graffiti. I had not looked at the photo in awhile but I remember where it was taken - the west wall of the Berwyn El station, where I was now disembarking. I knew the painting on the wall had evolved over the years, such is the nature of graffiti. The neighborhood may have even had a program where they encouraged young artists to work on that wall. I also knew that up until a few years ago, at least one element of the old graffiti depicted in the photograph, a large cartoon-like head, was still visible. Now, in a better mood despite still not having a coffee, I took detour to visit what remains of the graffitied wall. I'm happy to report my favorite head is still there, changed, a little duller in color, but still with a spark in its eye. And the rest of my short trek to the gallery was equally as inspiring, not for any specific reason other than it was lovely to look at the world covered with the light coat of snow on a not too cold day.

A few photos from this morning. The original panorama with the graffitied wall, and then a quick shot of the section of the wall as it exist today. Then a few photos I snapped on my walk to work. Gathering ideas, reacting, but not really over-thinking.

The snow continues to come down, and I may be less sanguine about this in five hours when I head home, but for now, lovely morning.

Addendum - February 1, 2015

The proposal in regard to the Graffiti panorama continues to move forward. The space where the photograph will resides has specifications that require reworking the proportions - which in some cases I am able, and happy to do. And we will be scaling up the image which is always exciting. Below is the reworking of the original photograph in its new cropped state. And then a playful juxtaposition of the wall ten years ago and now. 

Hello Old Friend, I Haven't Seen You In Years!

Back From Vacation....

...Hard at work on the photos of the trip, and hoping to get a few sketch book pages up on the blog soon also. In the meantime, one panorama from the rain forest, El Yunque, in Puerto Rico. Michelle took me on hike to the river and we swam/hiked from pool to pool. Other than the four family dogs, we had the place to ourselves. Remarkable, and a very special afternoon.

More Sketchbook Work

I make drawings while riding the train. Specifically on my rides home from Wilmette after a dinner with  my friends the Soskins, where most likely I have had a cocktail or three, and a large dinner. The train ride is long by some standards, up to an hour with a change of trains at one point. So I have come up with this series of drawings to make use of the time on the train. They are just a record of the date and time in bubble-like letters that I then crosshatch in a background for the duration of the train ride. I begin at the Linden station and put my pen away a minute before I reach the Addison stop near my home. The level of finish in the drawing it totally determined by the length of the train ride. I give up a lot but not all control, (I can still estimate how much time remains before my stop), but the results can be surprising, and I have a rudimentary diary entry.

Sketchbook Entry - Sunday, November 23, 2014

On this particular night I was reassessing the guidelines for this series of drawings, hence the notes on the page above the drawing - I will try to explain and expand:

- something to do on the train - I have this feeling lately in my life that I'm running out of time. There is much work to do and time is running short. This exercise is about making use of the time I spend riding the train. Some people read, some sleep, I feel compelled to draw, something I do not do enough of, and you have a small memento when you arrive at your destination.

- 2 Parts - a) the outline b) the coloring in - These drawings are a two step process. I make the outlines of the letters and numbers quickly, often as the train is sitting at the Linden station, the starting point for the Purple Line, before it starts it journey. I just get the information down, the day of the week, the date, and then I can spend the remainder of the train ride crosshatching, a mindless, yet to me comforting activity. This work eases all sorts of guilt about wasting time and not working enough as an artist. 

- Time - Fast/Slow - Being busy with this activity can make the time spent on the train fly by - the sixty minutes feel like fifteen. I have occasionally wished I had more time on the train to get further through a drawing!!!! Time is malleable, I experience it on the train! 

- Work on Tight Areas When Stopped - The train is mostly in motion. It rocks, it jerks, it starts and stops. Those movements make drawing a challenge in terms of neatness and technique. So I consciously work on the tighter, smaller areas while the train is stopped or slowed. When the train is moving quickly I cross hatch in the broader areas. 

- Only the Duration of the Train Ride - Explained above but let me repeat, the drawing can only take the length of the train ride. I don't have to decide when the drawing is finished, the Chicago Transit Authority does it for me. 

- Design Quickly If At All - This was the revelation of this most recent drawing. I have been doing this all along but I realized that not over thinking the layout and composition, not really controlling the font, will open this series of drawings up to unplanned, informal and less controlled results. 

- Grown-up Coloring - This practice is no different than what I was taught to do in coloring books as a child, except no color and I make the outlines. Sometimes it is shocking how little my art practice has evolved in fifty years.

- Follow the Initial Outline - I was repeating myself on this one. Make the initial letters and numbers quickly, do not over think. Then live with what you made. 

- Some Choices Base on Practicality and Utility - What I refer to here is that sometimes I will crosshatch in areas that are easy to get at, or feel good in regard the way I am holding the pen. Balancing the sketchbook on my lap on the train can be a challenge and some decisions are based on making the work not too difficult or painful.

On this night three young men got on the train at one of the stops that service Northwestern University. The train car was mostly empty but sometimes one chooses the closest seats and the they ended up surrounding me a bit. We started a conversaion and they were curious enough to ask about my scribbling in my sketchbook. I explained as best I could but I was unclear and self conscience. I did show them the few other pages that had been completed in the sketchbook, but they seemed unimpressed. I ended up explaining to them that I occasionally take photos on the train and would they let me take a panoramic photo that included the three of them. This explanation went on even longer than the sketchbook discourse and it involved me giving them my business card and asking to exchange e-mail addresses. Finally one of them said slightly exasperated, "It's ok, we give your our permission!" From what I understand they were heading downtown to do Karaoke. Good for them for venturing out via public transportation on a cold and wet Sunday night to experience Chicago. 

Fall - The Climbing Vines Change Color

I'm making photographs of the climbing vines again. Now that fall is in full swing and the colors are changing here in Chicago, the vines are taking on significant color. These vine flourish all over the city, but are often lushest in places where they are mostly neglected. Settings like parking lots and alleys where these plants are left unattended are where they grow best in the urban environment. I shoot them head-on, flattening the composition to landscape like configuration. There is something in them that remind me of the sensibility of Asian folding screens, paintings and scrolls.

Two New Drawings and a Photograph

Some weeks all you can do is show the new work, no comments warranted.

Untitled - Acrylic Paint on Acid Free Mat Board - 32 x 40''

Untitled - India Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 36 x 45''

1122 Foster Avenue, Chicago

Rode my bike to the gallery this morning, this building caught my attention for some unknown reason as I went by.

1122 Foster Avenue, Chicago

41 Train Rides #28

Saturday January 25, 2014 - 9:01pm - Red Line from Howard to Addison.
Returning home from Evanston where Laura and I saw the movie 'Her', (Amazing! Best science fiction movie of the year). Quick dinner afterwards then the long ride from the Davis stop with a transfer at Howard Street. It all went smoothly with a short wait at Davis (thank you 'Train Tracker') and a train waiting for us across the platform at the Howard Street stop. Good thing too as the temperature was quickly dropping from 20 to 8 degrees, and three inches of snow forecast for after midnight. I was totally busted by these two taking their photo as I shot this panorama, but I gave them a hand embellished business card and a friendly conversation ensued. I notice the boy on the right had no sock on and I 'mothered' them both from the Loyola stop to Addison. No hats, no long underwear, no socks! Note the condition of the floor, salt and ice everywhere, and the streets are worse, with piles of snow to walk over and around. This winter will not quit. It may be time to quote Albert Camus.

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."

Hand Embellished Business Cards