Janet's Place

Recent Work from Richard's Class

2009-07-04T20:05:11Z

This is some of my recent work from Richard's portrait class.

Elisabeth, from November:

]]> This is a photograph of Elisabeth. She will be our model in Richard's summer figure drawing/painting workshop.

Richard

Anna

Steve

Bill

John P

This Blog is NOT Abandoned

2009-06-08T21:08:01Z

According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream -- or at least an ambition -- unfulfilled.

This quote appeared in an article in the New York Times today. Just wanted you know my blog is not abandoned ... just not updated recently!

Another Trip to Lincoln Park Zoo

2009-03-24T20:59:44Z

Harry, Nancy and Jim went to Lincoln Park Zoo last Saturday. Harry took these great zoo pictures.

]]>

The polar bear is the only one who doesn't want winter to end!

Chicago skyline looking south from Lincoln Park Zoo

Indiana Dunes in March

2009-03-24T20:54:50Z

Harry and Nancy stopped at the Indiana Dunes on their way into Chicago. Harry took these great pictures of the Dunes in March on a cold and windy day.

]]>

Jim's Neighborhood Odyssey

2009-03-15T21:44:10Z

Saturday was a pretty nice day so Jim decided to walk around the neighborhood and take pictures of various apartment and condo buildings. But first some pictures of 2800 North Lake Shore Drive and the immediate area.

"2800"

]]> The view from Lincoln Park looking south. This is right across the street from 2800.

The Elks Memorial

Looking Northwest at the corner of Sheridan and Diversey.

Jim's bus stop, looking North on Sheridan Road

Now, various apartment and condo buildings on side streets in the 2800 neighborhood.

Dog walking along the way

Winter Zoo Visit

2009-02-14T21:02:26Z

On one of our nicer winter days, Jim decided to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. For you older folks, you may remember Lincoln Park Zoo as the setting for Marlin Perkins's "Zoo Parade" back in the "dark ages" of black and white television.

Lincoln Park is overrun with those pesky Canada geese. Sometimes they are fun to look at though ... as when they are walking on the ice on the frozen North Lagoon.

]]> Chimpanzees like to make and EAT snowballs !

Lions in Winter

The lioness is inside ... smart woman!

Some of the animals live in the Nocturnal Zoo. Day is night and night is day, so people who visit during the daytime can see the animals as they would appear at night, during THEIR awake time.

Fish in the aquarium

Swan ... swan with baby ducks ... baby ducks: it must be spring at the Zoo!

Aarvark taking a nap.

Giraffes are a zoo favorite.

Here are the llamas.

Turkey buzzard

Does this bird know he's a long way from the Everglades?

The reindeer must still be resting from their December hard work!

Winter Views by Jim

2008-12-02T20:51:20Z

Jim hasn't experienced winter for an extended time since 1996! He went out and took these pictures after Chicago's first measurable snowfall of the winter.

City view in the winter, looking South toward the Hancock Building

]]> Ring Toss sculpture ... see also Janet's Walk in Lincoln Park, July, 2008

Lake wall

Where are all the boats?

Lincoln Park vista

Statue of St. Joseph in front of the hosptial next door to 2800 Lake Shore Drive.

Richard's Fall Term Class

2008-11-08T21:14:07Z

Well, if is September it must be John. I think this is the 6th or 7th drawing I've done of John. Richard has him model for the first class every year.

]]> Here's a photo of John posing:

Here's an early drawing I did of John:

In October we had Claudine. She was a wonderful model!

For November with have Elizabeth. She reminds me of a sepia photograph. That is the type of colored pencil drawing I am working on.

Week 2 progress:

It's a BEAUTIFUL DAY IN CHICAGO AND AMERICA

2008-11-05T17:41:42Z

It's a beautiful day in Chicago and America!

Obama begins life as president-elect

The "Day Before" at Grant Park

2008-11-05T02:42:04Z

Jim and I took a walk in Grant Park to see the set up for the Obama Rally. It was a beautiful day ... over 70 F on November 3 in Chicago !!

This is the first mobile unit we saw:

]]> Turns out that mobile unit was from Homeland Security in DuPage County (a neighboring county).

We kept walking and this is what we saw: lots of satellite trucks, random people doing what we were doing, woman in Obama T-shirt, reporters from who knows where, and a tiny glimpse of the tents from as close as we could get.

Aunt Janet and Jim:

We also saw some beautiful views of the Chicago skyline. You will see some of these same views lit up at night on CNN on Election (Victory!) Night.

Looking Southeast toward the Field Museum:

Shedd Aquarium on the "museum campus"

Soldier Field

New Hampshire Trip

2008-08-03T16:14:17Z

I visited my friends, Melinda and David, in New Hampshire from July 24-30. Melinda and David work at Camp Pasquaney on Newfound Lake. David runs the woodshop and Melinda is currently working on organizing the camp museum. This was about my 20th trip.

]]> I stay in their cottage which belongs to the camp but is away from the camp proper. Newfound Lake is absolutely beautiful and very clear. These pictures are taken from the deck of the cottage, looking SSE and ENE. The trees and rocks are typical of the shoreline.

On Saturday Melinda and I went to the Hebron Fair.

The first thing we saw was the sign pointing to the Selectmen's and other town offices.

Two views of the crowd at the Fair.

Who can resist a picture of a baby and a dog?

The Congregational Church Youth had several games and all the kids had a great time, especially at the dunking booth.

Hebron is a true New Hampshire town. Here's the Village Store:

They have at least one town cop and he has a big car.

Back at the cottage, Melinda has neat things in her garden at the back.

In front of the cottage are more blueberries than one can possibly pick (whch we tried to do). What we didn't get the young mallards came on shore to get.

I didn't catch the mallards in the blueberries but we saw them swim back and forth along the shore a couple of times every day.

Eight young mallards:

Oops ... mother can count and she told the ninth one to stay by her as penalty for dawdling too long in the blueberries.

We saw mergansers as well.

The view from the cottage is beautiful at any time of day or evening ... or even night. I caught the hill across the lake at just the right moment with the trees on the ridge outlined against the evening sky.

It looks almost exactly like Janet K-P's painting:

Two pictures looking SSW just after sunset. Extra beautiful because I had to leave the next day.

Riverwalk July 4th

2008-07-05T00:19:24Z

My friend Beth and I took a 2-1/2 hour walk along Chicago's Riverwalk today. Beth discovered that the Riverwalk entails walking up and down a long flight of stairs at each cross street from West of LaSalle Street to Michigan Avenue. However, the long term vision promises "a fully accessible and continuous river-level promenade extending from Lake Steet to Lake Shore Drive."

I met Beth at Michigan and the River. She was accompanied by Guiness, her long-haired dachsund.

]]> Man fishing where Chicago River meets Lake Michigan

Lots of new construction, mostly condominiums, in the River East area

Random people enjoying the 4th of July

These people breed...note open bottle of whiskey in man's back pocket

Worthy (?) note to end on: Trump's latest, Trump International Hotel and Tower

Walk in Lincoln Park, July 1

2008-07-04T15:58:20Z

I look at my part of Lincoln Park every day. I rarely go there for a walk. I've decided to change that bad habit. Weekdays are the best because the paths are overrun on weekends with bicyclers who are constantly at odds with the runners, let alone the walkers. It's not always clear where you are supposed to be.

One of the first things I saw was an outdoor sculpture, one of many sponsored by our Alderman, Tom Tunney. This one is called Ring Toss.

]]> A close up of Ring Toss.

For at least three years the City of Chicago has been involved in the Chicago Shoreline Protection Policy. This means rebuilding all the revetments along the lakefront. There's not much to see and photograph.

View of 2800 North Lake Shore Drive from the East side of the drive. To find my condo, first look at the left top corner of the building in the foreground which is St. Joseph Hospital. Count up three windows to find the 23rd floor. My windows are the 6th and 7th from the left.

There are many statues in Lincoln Park, some of which seem anachronistic. This is "Signal of Peace" donated by Judge Lambert Tree in 1894.

According to the "Current News of the Fine Arts" in the New York Times, June 10, 1894:

"Judge Lambert Tree of Chicago has presented to that city Dallin's "Signal of Peace" an equestrian Indian group shown at the World's Fair [1893]. A brave in moccasins, breechclout [sic], and feathered headdress leans one hand on the neck of his pony and raises his feathered spear, with point upward, in the other hand. The horse's ears are directed forward and all four hoofs are on the ground."

It is unclear to me why this is referred to as a "group" unless there were more figures in the original.

I crossed back under Lake Shore Drive by the entrance to Diversey Harbor. Here are boats in Diversey Harbor. Most of these boats rarely go out on the water although some people party on them in dock.

Geese are the scourge of Lincoln Park where they reside by the hundreds, or thousands maybe. Here are some of them.

I'll spare you the picture of why it is wise to look down when you walk around goose territory.

I treated myself to a softserve ice cream at the Grill in the Park. It looks like an ordinary park concession stand and does have the standard menu of hots and burgers. But they are also noted for having the #1 Fish Taco in the city.

Richard's Class, Winter and Spring 2008

2008-07-04T14:27:21Z

I completed my fifth year of studying portrait drawing with Richard Halstead in Evanston. I took three of the 15 terms off during that time. I've used charcoal, pastels, pastel pencils and graphite. Settling on graphite this year was a wise choice.

This is a picture of Tim posing in the studio. Models maintain the same pose for the month, morning and afternoon for three to five Saturdays. Usually they pose for 25 minutes followed by a five minute break. There is a longer break in the midde of the session.

]]> Tim

Steve French

May Model

I missed a few May classes and only had two sessions to work on this. The model will be the model we have for our summer intensive portrait/figure drawing class. I have discovered that the full on view is not the easiest! Steve French above and John Phillips below are both more successful portrait drawings.

John Phillips

Diversey Driving Range

2008-07-04T00:45:59Z

For the thirty years I've lived here, I have looked out my window at the Diversey Driving Range. Some of that time it had natural grass but most of the time it was a lot of dirt dotted by hundreds of golf balls. This year the Park District decided to renovate the Driving Range. It has taken almost three months and progress has been intriguing to watch.

]]> The other day I walked over by the Driving Range and talked to a couple of people, neither of whom worked there. The two people I talked to were both golfers who came by to see when the Driving Range would reopen. One complained that his handicap was way up this year for lack of practice.

He also told me that the Driving Range, operated by a private firm for the Park District, was losing a lot of money in lost balls that couldn't be picked up by the little vehicles that are driven around to pick up the balls. The new artificial turf with a shallow base should take care of that problem.

Here's another picture of the Driving Range as it looked early in the renovation project in the beginning of May.

This is the Driving Range on July 3, almost ready. They have been spreading sand over the articifical turf and raking it in to increase drainage.