Yow!! Got a screen grabs of my artwork on national TV! NBC's Chicago Fire, filming in Chicago, has purchased 2 of my paintings for the permanent set and borrowed 4 more for use on temporary sets. Last night's episode showed the character "Shay" rescuing an at-risk baby - a poignant scene. But all I could see was my art behind her head! "That's Our Baby", "Tulip Garden" and "Autumn Cliffs" all got screen time this week.
Pretty exciting stuff! Thank you to The Leigh Gallery for taking such good care of me! Note: the paintings shown on last night's show are currently available for purchase at The Leigh Gallery in Chicago.
That's "Tulip Garden" in the background!
You can see "That's Our Baby" on the left, "Tulip Garden" in the middle, and off screen to right is "Autumn Cliffs" (was only a flash on the screen but I recognized it...)
"Tulip Garden" clearly visible in the background.... Shay, move your head!
I am very pleased to report that I have already sold two paintings from my new series, "Snow Day". Considering I only started this series about a month ago I'd say that's great progress!
First one sold was "O'Hare in the Park" (above) to my friends Scott and Roger - owners of the dog featured in many of the paintings. Thanks guys!!
Second one, "Snow Day" pictured below, was sold at The Leigh Gallery. Thank you Jean Leigh!
So far I've painted 10 in the series - some are hanging at the Leigh Gallery and I'll be hanging some more at the Andersonville Galleria, where I'll also have some prints available soon. Please stop by to see them in person!
"Snow Day" - prints available, contact me for details.
So, how cool is this? The fabulous Tony Odisho, owner of Exsalonce Salon and Spa in Chicago as well as Tony Odisho Extensions and Ostia Hair Products (who also happens to be my hairdresser!) called me a couple weeks ago for a favor. He asked if he could borrow a couple of paintings as staging for a one-day photo shoot at his newly redesigned and expanded salon. I brought him over a couple paintings that he thought would work well, and they did, and the photos turned out fantastic! Even better - he liked the paintings in the salon so much that he ended up buying them! Yay! Thank you Tony!
Above, Tony Odisho, owner of Exsalonce Salon and Spa, standing in front of "Rainy Day" in the salon.
Masa Irises at Exsaonce Salon and Spa
Big announcement! My first 1-woman show has now officially begun. Juliana Montebello-Roman and Chef Stefano Roman invited me to show my work at their beautiful and delicious Italian restaurant - Pizza Rustica. The restaurant is located at 3908 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60613 (just 3 blocks north of Wrigley Field, one block south of the Irving Park "L").
The show will run for a couple months - no end date set yet. But if you are interested in viewing please stop by for something to eat and to have a browse. The food is truly amazing - rustic northern Italian cuisine including amazing pizza, fresh pasta and to-die-for sandwiches - Stefano is truly an artist.
We are having an open reception on Sunday, January 20 from 1-3pm which will include a craft beer tasting hosted by one of their vendors. I hope you will stop by, either for the reception or some other time during the run of the show!
Juliana met me yesterday morning and was a fabulous partner - couldn't have done it without her! - in helping me get the show hung. Below are photos of the finished product.
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Added 1/12/12 - Read the interview with Juliana Montebello-Roman in the Examiner - great write up!!
Last month I wrote a post when I completed a series of pet portraits I planned on donating to my friends at Felines & Canines. I wanted to give them something to help decorate their soon-to-be-completed, totally renovated, new and improved pet shelter. Well - the long year of construction is finished - and now they have a totally gorgeous, warm and happy, no-kill shelter for cats and dogs. They moved in this week. They took an old house and made it into a state of the art, clean and friendly place where they can house 2-3x the pets they could before. Not to mention prior to the move they took in only cats - but now with all the extra space they have become a cats and dogs shelter. They are an amazing team and truly wonderful people. I can't say enough about them. If you are a pet lover, you must stop by. Adopt a pet, donate to a very worthy cause, donate some of your time, or just stop by to say hello. You will be as impressed with them as I am.
The photo above was taken yesterday - only a day after they moved in. They are posed in front of my donation - featured in their fabulous new adoption room. Abby Smith and her partner Kelly Thompson run this amazing place and Marie-Clare Balabanian pictured at left is one of the many dedicated and warm-hearted staff members who take such excellent care of these pets. The lovely canine front and center is Knuckles - Abby and Kelly's dog and a favorite at the shelter. Knuckles is featured in one of the portraits, upper right.
Congrats, my friends, on the fabulous new place, and the beginning of a new era for Felines & Canines!
Pictured above, from left: Marie-Clare Balabanian, Knuckles Thompson-Smith, Kelly Thompson and Abby Smith
To get a better view of the portraits, click the thumbnails below.
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Big news - last night I was honored by winning an "Award of Excellence" at the Illinois Watercolor Society's Annual Member Show for my painting "And then I lost it" (shown below)! I am over the moon thrilled about this. My first award since taking up painting again 2 years ago.
I walked into the exhibition last night with my best friend Robin, took a look around and thought to myself - oh man, I don't have a chance. There were so many truly amazing paintings on display last night, by some incredibly talented artists. This show is really something to see - and I figured no way was I going to win anything.... but then I did!
The judge was Marilynn Derwenskus, NWS, IWS - I was told that my painting was chosen for the story it told, for the risks I took in the composition and for the "glow" I was able to achieve in the execution. Super thrilling for me to get such high praise from a nationally respected artist and judge.
The painting, "And then I lost it" is one of a series I've been developing from discarded vintage photos found in junk shops and antique stores, which I'm calling the Discarded Series. The resource photo I used for this painting was of a little girl, circa 1930s, standing on a hillside with a white dress blowing in the wind. I added the cliff in front of her and the kite, to tell a story of innocence lost.
If you are interested in seeing a truly wonderful show, it runs through December 5 at The Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 West 31st Street, Oak Brook, IL.
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