A Pair?

Every once in awhile I have a reason to recreate a drawing. I have a 'soft' hold on an Indigo Lake drawing so I thought I'd make another. No two drawings are exactly the same and I often intervene to make them even less similar. In this case the second sheet of indigo stained watercolor paper (Arches Natural White Watercolor Paper - 25-3/4" x 40", Cold Press) was already dyed. But these dyed sheets are never the same and to change it up further I decided to reverse the image. To make my life easier I used new Molotow acrylic paint pens rather than using the old ones I have on hand from previous projects. I did approximately use measurements from the earlier drawing to gauge where things should fall but I did not anticipate the two being quite so similar and symmetrical. Fun as a pair but they will not remain so, I'm taking one to the framer today.

Michael McGuire - 2 Indigo Lake Drawings - Watercolor, Acrylic Paint on Arches Watercolor Paper - 40 x 26 inches each

Pairs

I had a client this week that wanted to see a few drawings that might work as pairs. I thought I'd share the photos I sent to her. The two 'Indigo' pieces are new this week. All drawings are 40 x 26 inches. 

40 x 26

I very often work on cold press Arches watercolor paper sized at 40 x 26 inches. It is an excellent paper and the size is manageable for me. I have made so many drawings at this size that I now think of them as a series. Despite the varied subject matter and range of media they all constitute a body of work in my mind. It calls to mind sketch book pages in its roving focus but all united in uniform size and paper.

I recently took quick photos of about half of the drawings at this size I have on hand at this time. The photos are for a client and we have had a couple conversations about 'the story' that might run through these drawings. If not a story, perhaps a 'rebus'. Certainly about my interests in architecture, urbanism, architectural drawing (drafting) and Chicago.

New Work In Anticipation Of Andersonville Arts Weekend

Michael McGuire - 3 Untitled Collages - Block Printing Ink, White Glue, Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 12 inches each

Michael McGuire - Regatta 16, Regatta 17 - Watercolor On Arches Watercolor Paper - 20 x 13 inches each

Michael McGuire - Urban Grid Study (9 Panels) - Block Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 18 x 18 each

Monoprints - Color Studies

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprint - Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 40 x 26 inches

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprints - Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 12 inches each

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprints - Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 12 inches

In the Chicago Tribune Home Magazine Last Weekend

Chicago Tribune Homes Magazine - Photo by Mike Schwartz/Studio Gild

I was surprised when I found a copy of last weekends Chicago Tribune Homes magazine slipped through the mail slot of the gallery on Wednesday. On the cover is a beautiful photograph of a Chicago interior that prominently features a drawing of mine from my series of 'Indigo' pieces. I had no idea, but fun to see. Thank you to Studio Gild for including my work. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/home/sc-home-0821-blue-modern-design-20170816-story.html

Monoprints

I have been working on a series of monoprints that I have been making by using a couple very simple rubber stamps. I started by using a triangular shaped stamp and them moved on to the circular one this week. The prints are fun and geometric and I plan to continue the series in color eventually.

This morning I was into the studio early and jumped right into the prints when it occurred to me to make a mono-print off the plastic sheath that I was using as a pad for inking the stamps. I saw similarities to some of the Rothko Studies I had made earlier in the summer and began inking different areas in gray tones. I also varied the amount of printing ink I would use in areas and it was applied with a brayer, hence the somewhat rectangular arrangements. I ran through all 15 sheets of 16 x 12 inches hot press Arches Watercolor paper that I had on hand and some of the results are intriguing.

There was a dimple in the surface on my drawing table that the plastic surface I was using as my inking area soon began to show. A small dot appeared in many of the prints. Oddly enough if you read the prints as landscapes, the dimple becomes a mark that just might represent the moon in the upcoming solar eclipse tomorrow.Seems like a nice sort of synchronicity.

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprint - Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 12 inches

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprint - Printing Ink on Arches Watercolor Paper - 16 x 12 inches

Michael McGuire - Various Monoprints - 16 x 12 inches each

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprint - Printing Ink on Arches - 40 x 26 inches

Michael McGuire - Untitled Monoprint - Printing Ink on Arches - 40 x 26 inches

And a few new framed drawings just back from Wall to Wall Framing.

New Drawings - Early August 2017

Large Drawings

I have been reviewing the large drawings I have on hand. I take them out of storage to hang them on the wall for a day or two, to photograph and air them out. Here are three I have reviewed this week,

July 4th Weekend 2017

Michael McGuire - Untitled - India Ink on Legion Coventry Paper - 50 x 38 inches

Michael McGuire - Untitled Color Study After Klee - Acrylic Paint and Watercolor on Arches Paper

Andersonville 'Midsommarfest'

The gallery is open. The AC is on, and I have refreshments. Stop by if you need a break for the festivities and the heat.

Michael McGuire - 2 new untitled drawings - India Ink, Acrylic Paint on Arches Watercolor Paper - 40 x 26 inches each

East Gallery Wall - 2 Framed Michael McGuire Drawings, a large Michelle Peterson Albandoz 'X' piece

The West Wall of the Gallery - All pieces by Michelle Peterson Albandoz

Michael McGuire - Untitled 'City' Drawing - Acrylic Paint on Arches - 40 x 26 inches

Recent Color Studies

Color is definitely in my head this spring. Some people say it is a reaction to the Trump era. I like to thing I'm working on adding another skill set. Color is hard,and I am not a natural, but I have learned a few things. Not sure where I am going with this impulse but small studies seem like a good place to figure it out.

I just finished a commission of large 'City' drawings that involved a bit of cautious color. These drawings will be heading to Sao Paulo and the imagery seems appropriate to a city of that size. 

Michael McGuire - 4 'City' Drawings - Acrylic Paint on Paper - 40 x 26 inches each

These drawings required me to look at both the acrylic paint and the paint pens I had on-hand and I ended up making a series of samplers that looked something like these. I had more earlier in the month but I have been giving them away as gifts. They are small and definitely have the feel of a study. My immediate impulse are the psychedelic color combinations. I was all those early rock posters on which I was raised. I think too that is has something to do with challenging my eyesight which becomes weaker every year.

Directly from these came a series of small city studies. Each of these are sized at 8.5 x 5.5 inches.

 

I got a little political on the last study.

On to something larger this weekend.

Enlarged Drawings In Ralph Lauren Window

The Ralph Lauren Corporation, always a big supporter of me and my work, has recently put enlargements of a few of my ink drawings in some of the store window across the world. Not every store, but quite a few including, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Bal Harbor, London, Shanghai, Hong Kong...   The original drawings are small and were part of a series that I made last summer working in the garden behind the studio. It would not have occurred to me to print them at this scale nor to make one into a folding screen, but the result is spectacular. I hope to get better photos next week. The displays are scheduled to be up through the middle of June.

Michael McGuire - Untitled Drawings - India Ink on Paper

Monoprints

I enjoyed making the 'Obama' block print last winter and have been wanting to play with the technique a bit more. I purchased a five small linoleum blocks to experiment with and opted not to cut into them - I printed the blocks as they came from store. In the later monoprints I cut one block down to a slightly narrower size to shift the grid. Not sure what I'm after here but these fall into the category of drawings where I do not do any traditional drawing. The texture is evocative and I was seeing film negatives a few.  Some of them have dimensions etc. because I sent images out to a few interested parties.