A Conversation with September Featured Artist Lucie Phillips
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
My grandfather and mother were both artists, so It is something that just was around me and I enjoyed. MY mother always encouraged me to observe my surroundings. One of my favorite early memories of “art” was a color illustration on the cover of a book of poetry that belonged to my not so artistic grandmother. It was always on the shelf growing up and I would just stare at this illustration—it held so much mystery for me. I still have the book. I like having a little mystery in my work.
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What Makes An Artist Successful?
Have you ever wondered why artists like Picasso, Monet, Da Vinci and Jackson Pollack are so well-known and well regarded while other artists with similar talent do not achieve the same level of recognition? It is certainly a difficult question to answer. All of the artists above were very talented, and their works are still well-known decades and even centuries after they were created.
It may seem obvious, but it needs to be said; talent is important. Beyond a certain level of talent, though, things get trickier in determining which artists will become famous. However, there are several potential explanations for why particular artists are so successful while others are not.
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Artist Allison Svoboda on Her New Show "Fractals from our Native Prairie"
Last May, we had a wonderful conversation with our Featured Artist, Allison Svoboda. This coming month, Allison will be displaying her newest works, once again as our Featured Artist. Allison’s highly colorful and expressive paintings are based on her observations of nature. We spoke with Allison again this year regarding her new exhibit, expanding on her comments from last year. Check it out below!
The work in your upcoming exhibit is very different from your previous work. What inspired you to pursue sumi-e?
I have started working with color combinations in my ‘paper quilt’ series inspired by the restored native parries in Chicago. In 2015, I received a Hemera contemplative fellowship to study Zen Buddhism in Japan. While there, I learned calligraphy and traditional arts of Japan including ink painting, shibori and orizomegami.
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Vivid Artist Angela Saxon on her new show, "As Shade To The Sun"
Last June, we had a wonderful conversation with our Featured Artist, Angela Saxon. This coming month, Angela will be displaying her newest works, once again as our Featured Artist. Angela’s highly colorful and expressive paintings are based on her observations of nature. We spoke with Angela again this year regarding her new exhibit, expanding on her comments from last year. Check it out below!
Your current exhibit focuses on water, namely creeks and waterfalls. What inspired you to pursue this subject, particularly given that your previous work focused much more heavily on beaches and shoreline paintings? Were these paintings inspired by trips that you took?
Over years I have made many paintings of a small creek that flows into Good Harbor Bay on Lake Michigan. It's clear and sandy and beautiful though contains nothing that you'd call a waterfall. The waterfalls entered my scene as a result of a trip last fall to the southern Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. I spent a week hiking and painting along a lively creek there. Those paintings were the spark for this new series.
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Re-visting a Conversation with Amie Campbell, May's Featured Artist
Last March, we had a wonderful conversation with our Featured Artist, Amie Campbell. This coming month, Amie will be displaying her newest works, once again as our Featured Artist. Amie’s highly colorful and patterned abstract paintings are based on her observations of nature. To reacquaint our readers with Amie, here is our conversation with her from last year.
We’d like to learn more about your beginnings. What are your earliest memories of art and how did you become an artist yourself?
“My grandmother was a painter and so I remember seeing her painting and I remember seeing her paintings. Most of that was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so she would paint lake scenes and sunsets and beautiful things like that. I went to a liberal arts college, Kalamazoo College, and at first art wasn’t my emphasis. I got very interested in art history there and I had taken some art in high school but not a lot, and I just got interested in making art. I also did theater, and it all kind of worked together.”
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A Conversation with Brigitte Wolf, April Featured Artist
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
I was mainly inspired by a painting I found by my mother after her passing. I had no idea that she had such a talent and decided to further my curiosity and interest in art I always had. I wondered what she would have been able to accomplish had she had the opportunity to study art. My earliest memories are how much easier it was as a child to express yourself through painting.
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So You Want to Start an Art Collection... Ask the Expert!
Since opening the gallery, we’ve found that our customers have had questions regarding how to begin and grow an art collection. While there is not a “best” strategy for building an art collection, we have some thoughts to share.
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A Conversation with Larry Simon, March Featured Artist
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
I was lucky enough that my mom opened my senses to both art and music at a young age—but the moment of discovery which sticks in my mind is a high school field trip to the Art Institute. I saw “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper and ... wow.
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A Conversation with Jane D'Angelo, February Featured Artist
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
My earliest memories of art are times with my grandmother back when I was seven or eight years old. She decided to take some private painting lessons for fun and invited me to join her. That sparked a passion. My grandmother and I spent lots of time over the years under the tutalage of various local artists until I went off to college and she eventually passed away. If only she could know the lifelong gift she gave me!
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A Conversation With Teacher Mark Bowers on the New Trier AP Art Exhibit
Can you tell us a little bit about the New Trier AP Art program? How have these artists developed during their time at New Trier, and during the New Trier AP Art class? Do many of the students go on to study art in college and pursue art as a career?
Our AP Art program is strictly seniors. During their junior year, they apply to the AP class, and as teachers, we review their portfolios and give them guidance in whether or not we feel as if they are able to be successful doing the AP exam, and also the curriculum of the course. And then the summer between their junior and senior year, they’re required to take an art class outside of New Trier, whether that be a community class, or they may even go to the School of the Art Institute for a studio immersive for a month or more. Some have gone as far as Rhode Island School of Design, and taken courses there.
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A Conversation With Featured Artist Sue Jacoby
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
There was no specific starting point in my life for creating art…it was just always a part of it. As a child my favorite activity was working in my coloring books and the “toy” I coveted the most was the big box of 64 Crayolas.
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A Conversation with October Featured Artists Lisa Goesling and Julie Cowan
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
LG: One of my earliest art memories is of selling my homemade coloring books to kids in the neighborhood. My feet didn't even touch the ground while I sat behind my little snack table filled with hand drawn books. Kids would snatch them up and then I'd run back inside to make more.
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A Conversation with Anne Smith Stephan, September Featured Artist
What are you earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
As a young child I remember my oldest sister loving to paint and draw and seeing her work made me want to be an artist, too. I was always fascinated by the human figure and continued to draw and paint from books, magazines and from life.
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Ask the Expert: The Art of Lighting Art - 6 Things to Think About in Displaying Your Artwork
Since we opened the gallery, we’ve found that our customers have had questions regarding how best to light the artwork they have purchased. The simple answer is, there is not one “best” way. Below, we discuss some options for lighting artwork as well as some other considerations.
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An Analysis of Classic Dutch Golden Age Paintings
Our summer intern, Sarah, also analyzed several paintings during her time in the Netherlands. These included Portrait of a Couple as Isaac and Rebecca, commonly known as The Jewish Bride by Rembrandt van Rijn, and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.
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Breathing Colour: An Interpretation of the Exhibit of Hella Jongerius
This summer, the gallery had an intern, Sarah, who helped the gallery in a number of different ways. Sarah spent part of June in the Netherlands studying art, and we decided to have her share some of her experiences on our blog. Sarah will be writing two blog posts detailing her experiences on exhibits she saw while studying abroad. We hope you enjoy reading them!
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On Street Art: 4 International Cities Where Street Art Has Exploded
We’re back for our third and final installment on street art, in which we will be discussing current street art outside of North America. We have already looked at the history of street art as well as its expression in the United States, but street art is truly a worldwide phenomenon. We have based some of this post on our travels abroad, while other examples have caught our eye while researching our other blog posts.
We first encountered extensive amounts of street art in Melbourne, Australia. Influenced by New York’s street art scene, the medium began to grow rapidly in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Stencil art became particularly popular in Melbourne during this time. In fact, Melbourne held the first ever Stencil Festival in 2004, which ran over the course of 10 days in late September and early October.
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A Conversation with Matt Schaefer and Janet Trierweiler, July Featured Artists
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
Matt: My earliest memory of art occurred when I was 3 or 4. My mother hired her brother, my Uncle Phil, to paint my bedroom and I asked him to paint some cowboys on the wall, which he flatly refused.
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On Abstract Expressionism
“I don’t know very much about art.” That’s a comment we frequently hear from customers. We believe that appreciating art does not require knowledge of art, but understanding some art history can enhance enjoyment. So, we would like to provide some context to our customers through our blog posts. Since they are brief, we hope that the blog posts will act as a springboard for those looking for more information. Today we will discuss the Abstract Expressionist art movement, which informs so much of contemporary art.
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A Conversation with Angela Saxon, June Featured Artist
What are your earliest memories of art? How did you become an artist yourself?
I was one of those kids that when asked, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I always said ‘an artist.’ There were sketchpads and pencils along on most family camping vacations. And I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have memories of the Art Institute of Chicago. I didn’t necessarily have a wealth of art supplies growing up or a fabulous art program in my early schooling. But I have always been an observer of the world around me and felt a need to record it.
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