Need a moment to quiet your busy life and meditate on your mortality? Meditate on some skulls. Do you love skulls? Then you’ll love the El Greco exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Do you find skulls creepy? You’ll discover that these compelling paintings will give you a whole new appreciation for the depth …
What does this look like to you? I found this on the ground in the middle of a busy pedestrian sidewalk. This object demanded a closer look, because it looks like intentional origami. A piece of crumbled trash that totally looks like a crane. (Or maybe a goose or rooster) While shooting a 16-second video …
Here are 28 of my favorite artworks displayed in February 2020 from the Art Tab Chrome extension. Every time you open a new browser tab, you get a different work of art from the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection. Tribune Tower? The way #ArtTab crops this sketch, it looks like the place where I worked …
Art Institute’s Art Tab highlights from February 2020 Read More »
Possibly our last accumulating snow of the season, Chicago was freshly covered in a light blanket of snow. Wonderful white canvases became available once again across the city. This morning I made sure to walk above ground to enjoy the snow. Many Chicagoans avoid the snow by walking in the underground Pedway that goes directly …
A garden appeared on the Picasso sculpture at the end of winter Read More »
A couple weeks ago I started a project where on my lunch break, I go the Art Institute of Chicago, stand in front of an artwork, and sketch it. I set out with this project to help improve my drawing skills, but instead I’m discovering another curious result. Sketching art is making me think. Sketching …
Another Guardian Lion‽ A pair of famous lions guard the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago. Inside the museum resides another guardian lion. This unknown distant cousin comes from Cambodia. It currently sits guard at the entrance to one of the busiest galleries. Literally at the entrance. Not off to the side, but right …
The third guardian lion at the Art Institute of Chicago Read More »
Empty lots are fascinating. The natural growth that naturally occurs in the desolate, unattended land. Plants sprouting up, giving life. The fence sign declares no trespassing. Don’t even think about stepping foot onto this land. However, someone ignored this warning, climbed the fence, and stacked a rock pile. A little act of humanity in a …
While walking to the train in the light snow/rain, an empty lot with lots of rocks and plants always grabs my attention. This lot reminds me of the empty lot next to my apartment of 13 years. I have the urge to leave origami flowers in the chain link fence. But in the rain, those …
Sketching artwork in person at a museum is more of an experience than I imagined it to be. The enhanced observation, the nervousness. What to sketch? The decision on what to draw. With 5,267 items on display, what would be the first?! Lately, I’ve had an interest in gallery 241. Home to the van Gogh …
Last year I was able to walk on the base of the Picasso sculpture in the snow. Only at the end did I slip a little. (Blog post, video) This morning a fresh blanket of snow covered Chicago, including the iconic statue by Pablo Picasso. I walked up to the Picasso to admire the beauty …
The light dusting of snow created wonderful canvases all over the city. One in particular I couldn’t pass up. A planter in the same plaza as the Chicago Picasso sculpture had a beautiful layer of cotton snow. The combination of the round planter with the snow formed a beautiful ringed canvas. No flowers in the …
