Cityscapes @ In Fine Spirits

This week I hung a group of new cityscape paintings at In Fine Spirits in Andersonville. They have a great selection of fine wines, craft beer, and artisan spirits with a strong emphasis on local too. I'm excited to be showing my art again in my neighborhood! There will be an Opening Reception and Wine Tasting on Saturday, April 26 from 3-6pm. More details to come. In the meantime, here are a few photos.

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Animated iPad drawing - Loop Tracks

I have been playing around with the iPad Brushes application. It's now a free open source app. Basically, you can draw/paint on the iPad and mimic various brushes, textures, etc. The app can also record your brushstrokes which is both pretty cool and creepy. But it's a great way to create a time-lapse video of the painting process. I mirrored the iPad animation onto my laptop using Airplay and then used AirServer to record it and export out as a video file. Then post to my Youtube channel. Hopefully, future functionality will have video export built in to the application.

Here's the final image:

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Some good art stuff happenin'

It's been a good couple of weeks of art-related stuff - here's a round-up: I finished the commission painting which is now with its owner - author, Holly McDowell. Special thanks to Holly for asking me to create this custom painting for her home!

Bridges to Chicago, oil on canvas, 36x48, 2013

I was interviewed by Mike Stephen from Outside the Loop Radio - a weekly radio program that airs on 88.7FM - WLUW in Chicago. We talked about my studio, the Cornelia Arts Building, its history and its place in the Chicago art community.  My interview segment comes in around the 5 minute mark - but listen to all of it - it's a great show!

[button url="http://www.outsidetheloopradio.com/2013/10/24/otl-episode-367-the-cornelia-arts-building-dads-parking-ticket-update-the-nw-chicago-film-society/" target="blank" background="#993300" size="5"]Listen here[/button]

I created and finished another painting right after completing the commission:

South Loop Lookouts, oil on canvas, 24x30, 2013

I was asked back to show at Degenerate Art Gallery again in November after a successful October show. It will be group show again and I'll have some abstract paintings on display. Glad to be part of this new gallery in Edgewater not far from where I live. Opening Reception is Saturday November 16, 7-10pm. More info on that to come.

Sunflower Slow Drag: Collaborative Painting, Simons & Swallow

A couple of weeks ago, I worked on a collaborative painting with fellow CAB artist, Scott Simons. We didn't discuss much about what we'd do, we just passed the painting back-and-forth until we decided it was finished. The following images show the process as the painting developed. It was passed between us about six to eight times.

Sunflower Slow Drag - Phase 1
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow
Mixed Media on Panel, 2013

Sunflower Slow Drag - Phase 2
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow
Mixed Media on Panel, 2013

Sunflower Slow Drag - Phase 3
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow
Mixed Media on Panel, 2013

Sunflower Slow Drag - Phase 4
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow
Mixed Media on Panel, 2013

Sunflower Slow Drag - Phase 5
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow
Mixed Media on Panel, 2013

 Sunflower Slow Drag, mixed media on panel, 24x48, 2013
By Scott Simons & Kevin Swallow

ARTIST STATEMENT:

"Sunflower Slow Drag is a collaborative mixed media painting by Scott Simons and Kevin Swallow. This piece combines Simons' abstract textures and lines with Swallow's cityscapes and abstract graffiti. Both artists are influenced by architecture and draw their inspiration from the urban environment. This is their first collaboration.

The painting references a jazz song, Sunflower Slow Drag by Scott Joplin. Like jazz, the painting was improvised. They passed the painting back-and-forth over the course of a week - reacting to each other's lines, marks, and colors. The panel was flipped and turned in various directions as they worked, until the painting unfolded into a finished composition. They will continue creating collaborative paintings and intend on having a two-man show in the future."

Digital projection onto a NYC skyscraper

My painting, Gallery District Lofts, will be projected onto a skyscraper as part of the Creatives Rising exhibit on Saturday night October 5 in Queens, NYC. You can view it approximately at 11:05pm being projected on the Linc LIC Building, 43-10 Crescent St. It will also be shown at the See.Me Gallery space that same night during the opening party - screen #8. Address is 26-19 Jackson Ave. Long Island City, NY. Wish I could be there to see it...

Click here for more info about the Creatives Rising show.

Gallery District Lofts, acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 2013

Abstract water tanks - mixed media

I finished up these two water tank abstracts today. They are mixed media pieces: acrylic, spray paint, and collage. They are unique pieces because they bridge both my abstracts and cityscapes, but I'm including them in the cityscapes paintings section on my website.

Rockaway Floods, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 24x48, 2013

Lakeview Platform, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 24x48, 2013

Exhibition in New York City - Opening Reception this Week

I'm excited to announce that three images of my cityscape paintings will be included in an exhibition in New York City. They will be projected on flat screens and large-scale on a wall. Here's one of the images that will be included:

West Loop Cityscape, acrylic on canvas, 24x48, 2012

The Story of the Creative
Curated by See.me
July 25-September 10

Opening Receptio
n
Thursday, July 25th, 7-11pm
Location: Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art
172 Norfolk Street, New York NY, 10002

Exhibition Continues through September 10th:
See.Me Exhibition Space
26-19 Jackson Ave.
Long Island City, Queens
New York, NY 11101

http://artistswanted.tumblr.com/post/54034821255/the-story-of-the-creative-the-creative-force

http://www.orensanz.org/about.html

New Paintings: Street grids and traffic congestion

These three abstract paintings are inspired by traffic congestion and street grids of the city. I started them off by collaging maps onto the surface, then adding acrylic paint and spray paint. I used a variety of objects as stencils to create some of the shapes. I painted them simultaneously in order to create cohesiveness in colors, shapes, and style. These are part of my abstract series of paintings.

Intersections, acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel, 24x24, 2013
Merging, acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel, 24x24, 2013 
Rush Hour, acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel, 24x24, 2013

New Mixed Media Paintings on Panel

These two new paintings were created using acrylic, spray paint, and collaged maps and sheet music on birch wood panel. Using spray paint was a new experiment for me and I think it worked out pretty well. The application of the paint gives these two paintings a more immediate, sketch-like feel. I like how the layers of collage turned out too. The maps I included are from the Chicago Bike Map and various travels (New York City, Paris, San Francisco). I have a lot more maps from traveling, so I want to create more paintings like these to add to my Cityscapes series. The finished pieces are the first two images below followed by close-ups so you can better see the layers.

 Rooftop Jam, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 36x24, 2013

 Sidetracked, acrylic, spray paint and collage on panel, 18x24, 2013
Here are the detailed close-ups of Rooftop Jam:
Here are the detailed close-ups of Sidetracked: