Chicago and the Arts Institute

Sep 9

Ahh, yes, the joy of fulfillment.

I’ve been to the Arts Institute several times but have always longed to go alone, take my time, and draw. I am satiated after this trip.

In all, I filled four spreads, including one from the train:

This spread is a conglomeration of different pottery designs and bits of pieces I saw. A warm up with a mix of materials- watercolor, pencil, mechanical pencil, pen. I drew this spread in an odd order, but it made sense to me. The portion in the top left is from a coffee shop I went to in the morning- so delish. Next, I drew motifs from some pottery and a sarcophagus in blue mechanical pencil. With watercolor, I painted the large pattern from a piece of Greek pottery that was totally mesmerizing. Then I moved to the bottom left portion of the spread and drew some motifs from specific paintings or pottery, and a sketch of “A Child’s Bath” to get my eyes engaged with sketching the paintings in pencil. At this point I was just getting a feel for the medium and warming up with translating values.

It was wonderful to really dwell on some pieces. This painting in real life was extremely powerful- The Rock by Peter Blume. A narrative on the aftermath of WWII. It’s grotesque and disturbing, but powerful and suggests progress. I loved looking at it.

This was the pottery I was observing for my sketch. I came close, but I do want to revisit it and get it right. It’s so smartly designed. Really a wonderous piece.

It’s also so hard to fathom how old it is.

But that also sends me into a small spiral regarding how our modern day items are going to last foreverrrrrrrr lolololhahaha.

After spending time in the American Paintings section, I moved on to the Impressionist area. I feel this is the star gallery of the museum. I sketched pieces I was drawn to, considering whether or not it was doable and how visually interesting it would be in pencil. My first choice was this Monet. I have seen this beauty before. Beautiful peaches and purples, it really makes you feel the feeling of a dewy morning. I spent a lot of time working on it. Translating value is a challenge for me (I’ve always been a pen and ink gal), and I use color in these situations as a crutch. It took time to build what I wanted and I think I performed… fairly. Could be better but that’s the exact point of drawing at the museum. I did love that I found the last of my paper stumps from high school in my art pouch which was SO handy for this!

Waterloo Bridge by Monet

I just love how moody this painting is. Dewy and cool toned but somehow cozy??? I can look at it for so long.

The next thing that caught my eye was this portrait of Jeanne Wenz by Toulouse-Lautrec. Something about her gaze, profile, and posture. I spent a LOT of time here. Maybe something close to an hour and predominantly on her face. I really wanted to achieve likeness, which I think I did! Her clothing and surroundings were really just an afterthought that I should fill those things in. I enjoyed drawing this. But standing, holding, and sketching for so long… my body did not enjoy.

After spending time in the impressionism area I found my way over to modern art to fill the rest of my spread. By this point, my brain was cooked with drawing and observation. I powered through. I decided to explore a Picasso piece.

This was the perfect thing to sketch while my brain was mush. I really had to observe where shapes began and ended, how the shadows cut off or fade into each section. I don’t really care for Picasso (sorry bro) but I did like this piece.

And finally, the rest of the page was filled with a hodge podge of observations. I did really enjoy this piece that I lightly drew in the bottom left portion of the page. It is “Still Live Reviving” by Remedios Varo. I love surrealists so much. This guy is nuts! Definitely a new favorite.

In between floors, I had to draw something familiar to help de-mushify my brain. Who knew that the umbrella perspective is my friend?? It’s small, but I’m a fan.