Sue Flanagan’s Website

In August, I will be showing about 35 paintings at the Vogt Visual Art Center (VVAC) in Tinley Park. My friend, Marcia Duff will also have her watercolor paintings on display. Both of us are representational artists and we particularly enjoy landscapes.  Here are some pictures of the Vogt Center which is the art center for Tinley Park. It has a gallery on the ground floor and classrooms upstairs. On August 13th, there will be an artist reception at 7 p.m. There will also be free music in the gazebo outside and plenty of refreshments. 

We have had a lot of rain lately, so I haven’t done as much plein air painting as I would like. Here is one of my most recent outdoor paintings.

I recently painted Lake Marmo from a winter plein air study and a photo. Here is the far from completed study on location (I was frozen) and the photo I took.

Here is my painting from these two sources. See My January post for the details of this trip to the Morton Arboretum.

I hope you are enjoying the summer. Until next time,
Sue

The first Great Lakes Pastel Society convention was held in Ypsilanti, Michigan at the Eagle Crest Resort. It was a very well organized event and an enjoyable weekend. I arrived on a Friday evening to register and enjoy the reception for the participants. It was stressful driving across Michigan because of the heavy rain. This unfortunately made it challenging for the artists who were participating in the plein air painting near the resort. However, it did not stop them and their paintings were hanging in the reception area. There was a computer slide show of paintings for the artists who were in attendance. It was a humbling experience because there were so many beautiful paintings.

In the next two days, I attended 3 sessions. The first was on how to digitally photograph your artwork. Now I have to learn more about my camera-ouch! The second session was a landscape demonstration by Larry Blovits. He is an accomplished artist and you can tell that he has a lot of teaching experience. Here are some photos of his demonstration of a fall scene. His photograph is his reference.

The third session was a portrait demo by Vianna Szabo. Vianna has a great ability to see color. Here are some pictures of her starting her drawing, doing an alcohol wash after blocking in with pastel, and then with pastel application. She did not finish but accomplished a lot. 

What did I learn from these great artists? There are many things but I was certainly reminded to be patient! There was a banquet Saturday evening. Richard Rubenfeld, an art historian, gave a commentary of modern pastel art. It included an interesting slide show.

It was a very pleasant weekend that was followed by some time in Saugatuck, Michigan. I painted an iris, beach and water scenes plein air. I hope you are enjoying summer and keep in touch with your creative side.
Sue Flanagan

A couple of weeks ago we had our first 65 degree day in months. So, I packed up the easel and art supplies and headed to the Morton Arboretum. I knew it would be too early for blooming flowers and trees but I had to get outside.  Here are some of the earliest signs of new life. The daffodils were just sprouting.

I set up my easel next to the car because I did not realize how windy it would be and the wind was cold! I anchored the easel so it was secure but I was constantly holding something else down. I was attracted to some trees that had red grass in front of them. Here is the set up. I first put pastel down for the major shapes and then used Gamsol (mineral spirits) to spread the pastel. When it was dry, I applied some pastel. I did not finish.

Unfortunately, this was not fun so I gave up and went to the visitor’s center for some hot tea. I was so cold! I spent the rest of my time driving through the grounds. Today it is an unusual 80 degrees and many things are blooming. It is still windy but I am looking forward to a return trip.

One of my pastel paintings, “Running Out of Titanium White” has been accepted into the Great Lakes Pastel Society National Show. This will be at the Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art in Midland Michigan from May 8th to August 1st. In August I will be showing a large number of paintings at the Vogt Visual Art Center in Tinley Park with Marcia Duff, a watercolorist. So I am busy painting in my studio and framing.

Have a great Easter.
Until next time,
Sue Flanagan

Well, the PAPC-SW has not been painting but I did get myself out to the Morton Arboretum. Most of our country is in the deep freeze and the Chicago area is no different. However, we have had some beautiful days with snow and sunshine. So, I packed up my gear and donned my winter clothes. I have a couple of layers of clothing under an old ski jacket and ski pants. I put on hiking socks, chemical toe warmers and boots. I have wool gloves that have the fingertips removed and that have a flap that I periodically put over the fingers to warm them up. I will spare you a picture of this get up and just show you the beautiful scene that I chose to paint. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

Here is my easel set up. The plastic sack is a bunch of newspapers to give me another barrier between the snow and my boots. I have to admit, I was still very cold and decided that I just need new boots. I have used my backpack to anchor the easel in case it becomes windy. Thank goodness it never did.

I am not happy with what I did on the spot but maybe it can be salvaged back in the studio. My fingers were just too stiff to accomplish very much. I’m glad I did it and I did buy new boots.

Here are a few more photos of the beautiful landscape at the Morton Arboretum.

I hope you have had a good start to the new year!
Peace,
Sue

On Oct. 10th, I went to a plein air event with the Plein Air Painters of Chicago-SW. We had an opportunity to paint outdoors at Ida’s Nursery in Lemont. Here is a picture of the beautiful scenery at Ida’s.

As you can see, the morning was beautiful. Ida’s staff could not have been nicer or more helpful. They provided hot coffee and pastries in the morning and a hot lunch. There were two fires going to keep us warm. The staff helped to unload and set up our equipment. We were allowed to put up displays with our art work for sale. Here are more photos of artists and their set ups.

I was busy visiting with other artists and visitors to the nursery. I started a pastel painting  of potted plants. However, I wasn’t paying attention to the gradual change in weather. I have learned to anchor my easel but I had framed paintings displayed on a table next to me. A gust of wind sent them airborne. Broken glass and a ruined frame was the result. That was the end of my day. I cleaned up and went home. I’m still grateful to Ida’s for the opportunity. Next weekend, the PAPC-SW will be out to paint again. The forecast is for more wind. I will be more careful.

Until next time, happy painting.
Sue

Spring is finally here! After 6 months of cold weather, we finally have some warm days. I do enjoy the changes of the seasons. Color is returning to the midwest United States. I have been to the Morton Arboretum three times for plein air painting. Here are some photos of my first day out. Here is my easel with pastel painting supplies, the set up and my inspiration.

It was a beautiful day for painting! On another day, I got to the Morton Arboretum early and joined the deer for their breakfast.

The Morton Arboretum was established by Joy Morton of Morton Salt Co. It is 1,700 acres of woodland, lakes and praires that has a collection of 4,000 trees and plants from around the world. It is a plein air painter’s heaven year round.

In the studio, I have taken a break from my pastel ground exploration. I have temporarily gone back to commercially prepared sanded papers. I am almost finished with two Ireland landscapes. I have also done a couple of non-objective multi-media pieces and I have a couple more in progress.

It’s great to be an artist.
Sue