New This Week - First Week of September 2016

A few 'Foliage' studies made over this past weekend. I went to Michigan for a couple days and was inspired by the late summer foliage. I was so green and the foliage so lush, like no summer in recent memory  - the grass stayed green all summer.  In addition it has been a very noise Cicada season, not a full 17 year cycle, but some minor cycle, and they are loud. But that is a nostalgic sound for me. Reminds me of summers in Madison Wisconsin. Late summer nights, riding bikes....

Michael McGuire - Untitled Foliage Study - India Ink on Arches Paper - 26'' x 40'' inches

Michael McGuire - Small Foliage Study 1 - India Ink on Arches Paper - 20'' x 26'' inches

Michael McGuire - Small Foliage Study 2 - India Ink on Arches Paper - 20'' x 26'' inches

 And then in the studio I have been drawing white grids on watercolor paper that I had sprayed with India Ink to get uneven surfaces. I'm playing with various configurations and using a smaller nib on the paint marker. The tightest grids (upper right and lower left) become almost pure pigment.

Michael McGuire - Untitled - India Ink, Acrylic Paint on Arches - 40'' x 26''

New Lake Collages

Large abstract watercolor washes with triangles of white cardboard affixed to them. 

Large Watercolors

Untiled (July 26, 2013) - Watercolor on Paper - 30 x 41 inches

The watercolors for the Ralph Lauren window have been returned to me and I wanted to share a few of the large ones. These bigger watercolors were a challenge for me, watercolor being a media that does not scale up easily. That is to say that the liquid qualities of the material move, absorb and generally do not act in the same manner on a large piece of paper as they do on a small one. So there was a learning curve in their creation, and I did have to destroy a few very large and expensive pieces of watercolor paper in the process. But when the were successful they were very impressive. Part of the process involved pouring large amounts of pigmented liquid across these beautiful pieces of paper, that reminded me of some of the abstractionist from the 1960's. Things would have to completely dry between each pass, which on a sunny warm day was not a problem, but on a cool cloudy day could take many hours. And finally my hand would have to intrude and risk the final few layers of waves and clouds. The results are pieces that lack some of the intimacy of the small lake watercolors, but have an impact that emphasizes and mirrors the scale feeling of Lake Michigan.

My Holiday Card

For those of you that are not on my Holiday Card list, below is the image I used this year for my printed cards. It was made a couple years ago during a Chicago lake effect snow storm. I went out for a walk during the storm, walked over to the lake at the nearest entry point, near Waveland Golf Course. Dead quiet, not a soul in sight, I had the park to myself, except for this unusual snowman. Hope you all survived the Holidays, and best wishes for a great 2013.

What Color Is Blue?

Yet another lovely day at the beach. A later start than usual, the day was so warm it was not comfortable until after 6pm. And once we arrived we chatted for another hour before entering the water. The sun was just dipping below the horizon as we swam. I finished a bit before Laura, and wandered the nearby beach. I came across this array of blue chairs, and the variety of blues prompted thoughts about the nature of color, not only as we experience it, but as it translates to photography and ultimately onto the computer screen.

Wednesday, July 19, 2012

One of the few advantages of the hot weather is the potential for thunder storms. We need the rain of course, and Wednesday night, early Thursday a nice storm rolled through. I have a summer cold, scratchy throat, achey, and couldn't sleep comfortably, so I was awake at three in the morning as a second wave of storms moved through. The storms were on the south side of Chicago, not so much rain where I live. But my southern view is perfect for viewing such weather events. I set up my camera on a tripod and repeatedly shoot five second exposures, hoping to get lucky with a lightening strike. I discard ninety percent of what I shoot but every once in awhile...

Swimming With Chuck

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Another ninety degree plus day. Worked in the studio most of the day, but my air conditioning is noisy and inadequate. About 3pm, tired of making watercolors of the lake, Chuck called and said he was swimming in the actual lake, and there was a bit of relief from the heat at the waters edge. It was a steamy and unpleasant ride to Lake Michigan, and the relief extended only about 20 feet from the waters edge, but once there, it was a delight. Chuck had found our old swimming spot from last year, difficult to identify due to lower water level. The rocks look altered and the logistics of entering the water vary from year to year, but this is a great spot with a stepped series of flat rocks that lead you into the water. Chuck had even scraped off some of the slippery algae to make the footing more secure. The wind was from the south, and in Lake Michigan on the west shore that means the warm water is being blown north and the cold water from the lower depths is brought to the surface. The water was cold, probably seventy two degrees, a nice surprise as the water in the pool in my condo building has be over eighty degrees for weeks now, much too warm to bring relief. The plunge into Lake Michigan was shocking for a moment and then you take in the clear coolness of the water. Chuck swims up and down the shore line, attempting to get in some real yardage. I'm more of a plunge in the water, float a bit, and out to drip dry for awhile, then repeat for as long as you are near the water. I brought along a thermos of ice and a couple sparkling sodas and we enjoyed our shady perch on the rocks. Chuck does not like to have his photo taken, but I persuaded him by falsely claiming this would be our one and only photo of him this summer. We were having a great time, until later, as the sun was low in the sky, first one, and then three raccoons made their appearance. They would pop their heads out of the spaces between the rock as unexpected places and Chuck made the comment that it reminded him of 'Laugh In', that show from the sixties where the comedians would pop their heads out of a wall and tell a joke. But no joke here, as cute as raccoons are, I'm a bit afraid. And Chuck was teasing me, he would brush my leg and claim it was a raccoon, or pretend to see one by my backpack. He eventually picked up a small rock and banged it against the ground to scare them away. I didn't do much, these raccoons are so used to people I was sure they were after our sodas. We literally made a run for our bikes and breathed a sigh of relief as we peddled away.

Large Tree Trunk Drawing

I'm trying to post once a week, but this week I have nothing new to show. I've been busy working all week, cutting up paper, gluing, but completed nothing. So instead, I found a photo of a drawing from last spring. This drawing was part of the tight, photo-realistic, cross hatching drawings of last winter/spring. It was the only large one from the snowy tree series. There are pencil notes along the margins, noting what I was listening to, and what I was watching over the six days it took to cross hatch the entire thing. The texture is pretty amazing in person.

Steamy Weather - A Day at the Waters Edge

Thursday July 21, 2011
Another hot and humid day. My poor air conditioner can barely keep up. I live in a mid-rise building and we have what are essentially window AC units but built into our walls. Mine is old and still puts out some cool air, but is a bit noisy and we are now into day five of this hot spell and the poor thing is exhausted and dripping water. I just cannot run it all day and night so my strategy is to save it for sleep and when I need to be working in my condo during the daytime. So one of my thoughts was to spend the afternoons at the lake where, if we are lucky there will be a bit of a 'lake breeze' and I can always jump in the water if necessary. I brought along a few art supplies including my watercolor set thinking I might revisit a series of drawings I created three years ago. I like to go swimming at a spot behind a nearby public golf course. The infrastructure at the waters edge is still the old stepped rocks that made up the Chicago Lakefront since at least the 1950's. Most of these rocks have been replaced now with new, cold, unfriendly concrete steps that not only do not appeal esthetically but also are very difficult to swim from. There are only a couple place in Chicago where these old rocks remain for the most part they are in ramshackle condition. This spot is no exception. Rocks have shifted much over the years and most of the retaining wall has been worn away. Over the past winter much of the gravel road that runs between the golf course the water was eroded away and access has been restricted. You can still walk or ride your bike in but I fear that this area will be closed off completely soon.

I pull out my watercolors and sketchbook, randomly put out a color, and of course, first thing proceed to knock the paint on to the sketchbook and a little bit soaks into the edge of every page. I’m fustrated, it's hot, my sweat is mixed with sunscreen, and there is no breeze. The water is so cold that I can only jump in and get out immediately without my feet becoming numb. This does not put me in the best mood and I do not really have paper or paint to waste. But I persevere thinking it will be a good exercise. I don't really know color, I don't use it much, and have to rely on the color on the labels, which aren't particularly accurate, to indicate which colors and shades I might use. But I can see the color of the water and I can see what is on my makeshift palette and do the best I can. As the afternoon goes on, and the shadows get longer, the air cools a bit, and I become used to the chilly water. I swim between each sketch, and end up making three. This was the best one and I was able to trim the spilled paint off the edge. Maybe this spot has some potential, and next time I'll be better prepared.

Crazy Weather-Thursday June30, 2011-10:15pm

The weather this week has been quite varied; hot, cool, dry, very wet... This evening a front moved through. It was hot and sticky all day. Then the temperature dropped ten degrees late afternoon. But this crazy storm did not move in until later that night. The lightning was occurring with a frequency that I had never experienced before. Perfect conditions to capture lightning on a camera. I was on my balcony holding my finger on the camera button and mostly randomly I would take a shot. The exposures were slightly long, something near two seconds, and that increases the likelihood that one might capture something. I shot a lot. Some bolts were so close to my building, I'm on the seventeen floor, that I would run inside for a minute or two. You could feel the static electricity and hear a crackling sound just before a big bolt.

Upcoming June Show at Las Manos Gallery

This is the e-vite card for my up coming show at Las Manos Gallery. I picked up the work today from the framers and I have to say it looks good. The show opens this Friday, June 10, 2011 but we will not hold the reception until the following Friday to avoid the craziness of Andersonville Midsommarfest which takes place the weekend of June 11 and 12. Stop by if you get a chance.

New Crosshatch Drawings

I'm in the final stages of preparing for a June show at Las Manos Gallery in Chicago. I'm working on a last few cross hatch drawings to complete two distinct series. One series is called 'Winter Trees' and the other, unnamed at this point, has to do with recreating famous art works in the crosshatch technique. The latter series includes the pictured Marilyn and a Rothko that I'm keep under wraps. Silly idea but I felt the impulse.

The June show at Las Manos begins the weekend of the 11th and will run into July. More information to follow soon.

Queen Anne's Lace - Triptych

I spent the last week of March house/dog sitting in Wilmette. I did the same thing last year for spring break and the weather was 70 degrees all week. This year the weather was cold, 30 degrees and cloudy. I always try to bring a project with me while in the suburbs and this year being trapped inside most of the time, I cross hatched a triptych of plant forms. The image came from the bird sanctuary near Montrose Harbor in Chicago. The drawing moves from chaos and density, up toward simplicity and clear form. It did take almost 40 hours of crosshatching, but they had good cable and I broke up the days with dog walks. Each panel is approximately 12 x 19 inches.

Winter Drawings

Two new winter drawings. I crosshatched these from photographs. The first drawing is about order out of chaos and has a direct connection to the telephone pole drawings. The second drawings seems to be about an image emerging from a mass of crosshatched lines. Their dimensions are roughly 13 x 19 inches.

Labels

Now that the postings are mounting, I wanted to mention how helpful the labels can be to look at a specific subject. For example if you are looking for India Ink drawings, be sure to click on the label 'india Ink' and all of the posts with that link attached to it should pop up. Some helpful labels might be: Chicago, panorama, drawing... They appear at the bottom of each post. I will include them all here. Give it a try, don't be afraid.

Mirror Lake

Here are a few photos from a series I made in 2007-2008 called 'Mirror Lake'. All the original images were made in Chicago, along the lake front. I won't say anything about my manipulation of the photos, it's obvious and the title of the series, says it all. They have a quality about them that evokes, for myself, a feeling of being near the waters edge of Lake Michigan. There are still a few of the original images floating around Las Manos Gallery; and the Gage Restaurant on Michigan Avenue has a couple very large prints in their dining rooms from this series.

Winter Panorama

Tulips

As an antidote to all this cold weather, a tulip drawing from last summer.

Symmetrical Hosta

This is a drawing from a series I made in June of this year. The drawings are large, (38 x 50 inches), and the materials are India Ink on paper. I framed a two for the upcoming show at Scout and one of these drawing we split down the middle are framing the two halves seperately and presenting them as a pair. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

I've Been Busy Preparing For The Fall

Sorry I haven't been posting more regularly. I've been busy preparing for this fall, and some shows I have coming up in the next month. I don't have much to show today but I wanted to put up one new drawing to wet your whistle. I'm participating in the Andersonville Arts Weekend, part of Chicago Artist's Month, in October. Scout, a wonderful urban furniture store in Chicago on Clark Steet in Andersonville will show my newest drawings starting on October 8th. I've been inspired by the fantastic summer we had these past few months. The plants and foliage have responded with an explosion of growth and vitality that I have never experienced as long as I have lived in Chicago. I plan to post more soon.