Clean And Simple Charactures

The subjects of her art are dreamlike caricatures drawn with clean lines, sprinkled with a touch whimsy and a Japanese anime flair.

Chicago artist Laura George attaches simple themes to each of her drawings. The result is an image that conveys a singular thought and expresses that thought in a clever and upfront manner.

Defining Her Art

Artist: Laura Prentice

The Student

The largest defining factor of my overall work is that I am currently an art student. I hope that I will always be a student, learning in one sense of another, but right now, I have classes that me to make tons of art. Sometimes I'm making so much art that I just make a lot of bad art or a lot of mediocre art that doesn't mean anything. I guess at this point I'm still learning and "finding my song" as I like to call it so anything out is good.

Her Passion

I would not really consider myself any "ist" titles. I was born with passion and ability to make art, and I seriously consider art my voice in the world. I have a huge burden for under-served children, ignorant people, the city, and bad Christians.

How it started

I was born making art. My dad is a graphic designer/ illustrator and I used to wake my dad up on Saturdays at 4 a.m. as a preschooler draw pictures with me. My parents were always encouraging my artistic side (probably as soon as they learned how much I sucked at peewee soccer) and that has made a great impact upon my life.

The process

My process usually involves an idea, dilemma, or something that I'm thinking about fairly frequently. The best art that I make comes from an idea mulling in my brain for a few weeks until I can't do anything but make it. In that way I'm tortured. Often, I let the work go where it wants to and over time it evolves into some kind of finished state.

Nature vs. Industry: A Rising Artist's Canvas

Chicago Painter: Amanda Sears

TCG: Your pieces are all very different, but still have a certain cohesiveness. Is that on purpose?

AS: The building blocks of my work; lace-like patterns, typography, texture are always encouraging me to explore ideas in different ways, but I never really think about the "cohesiveness" of my work. I just paint whatever is currently inspiring me. I suppose I go through phases using certain patterns, colors, or techniques, but I rarely intentionally create them as a series.

TCG: Why are you drawn to the contrast between nature and industry?

AS: I love the raw, edgy feel of industrial design. It's slick and gritty, but there is something that inherently warns you to keep your distance. It can feel dangerous. Nature is this beautiful organic flow; warm, inviting, very alive, but it dies and there's something about decomposition that I find beautiful. I think of industry being this modern, steely, glamorous monster, but if it is not maintained nature will irrevocably take it over or break it down. I don't know if it is so much a contrast between the two that I try to express as much as it is allowing them to live together in a peaceful way.

TCG: How do you think your perception of your own work is different form your audience's perception?

AS: All anyone can ever be completely sure of is their own perception. All I know is where my inspiration might come from and how satisfied I am with the result of that expression. Once my process is finished, the viewer's begins and their perception is all that matters. I think a lot of the art world has lost sight of that and waits for other people to tell them what to think is important.

The Boy Short Of It

Chi-Town artist Sharon Parmet designed this illustration for TCG blog. And boy oh boy, it doesn't come short.

Art In The Everyday

Artist: Mike Dewar
On Deviant Art


Number 13 more or less grew out of a scrap heap of photos. While going through pictures to find intriguing things to mix, I kept finding small moments within them that seemed worth saving. When I went back through the pile, I found there was a sort of story already formed - a story about those little lost moments spent waiting for the L to take you home, or work, or into the arms of loved ones.

Red Line: One day I went down to the subway to get on the Red Line. The train came, I got on, and sat down. Lost in thought or a song or looking at something interesting, the train started moving. I felt a breeze and thought, "Wow,someone left the window open in the winter! That's a dick move." It took a second or two to realize that the subway's windows don't go down, and that in fact, the window I was sitting next to was nothing more than a gaping hole devoid of glass. I waited until we stopped then stuck my camera out the window. Click. Some people ride that subway several times a day, but who really knows what it looks like between the train and the walls?

Q & A With Chicago Artist Katie Cooper

View Katie Cooper's artwork

The Chicago Girl: I was looking at the painting "ceci c'est pas la realite." Is Magritte your favorite artist and why? From where do you draw your inspiration?
Katie Cooper: I do adore Magritte. He is not necessarily my favorite artist, but is one who had made a huge impact on me. It was through getting to know Magritte that I fully realized that art can, and should be so much more, than "something to look nice, above a couch." Artwork is supposed to have purpose. It is supposed to raise questions. Magritte helped to make this clear to me.

TCG: How would you describe your style?
KC: My personal style could be described as a mishmash of humor, realism, surrealism, and consumerism.

TCG: Do you think about the meaning behind what you want to paint?
KC: I am interested in those things that we, as consumers, can't get enough of. I like to take this idea, and blow it up to a sort of grand scale. I take things that we use and see everyday, and blow them up in a sort of masterful style. These things then become almost holy.

TCG: What is your process?
KC: Once an idea, or an image has stuck with me for a few weeks, I go to my stretched canvas, and begin sketching in thin layers, with oil paint. Many, many layers later, I have a piece worthy of heightening the "Wal-Mart" experience to that of a holy and ritualistic one.

Painting In Reverse

Artist: Meg Shea

This Chicago artist paints in reverse.\siht ogacihc tsitra stniap ni esreveR

Here's how it works. She starts sketching what she wants to paint, keeping in mind that the viewer will see a mirror image. She hones in on the details like the reflection in the pupil of the eye. Then she paints the colors in layers as they dry and overlays the white of the eye. It's a time consuming process, but it makes the colors pop.

Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks

I love local artist,

Gisela Insuaste's

installations. This one reminds me of a giant game of pick-up sticks.

Chicago Mosaic Art: Piecing Together The Parts

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I interviewed Chicago mosaic artist Valerie Fuqua to find out about how she puts the pieces together.

Why mosaics?

Mosaics allow me to take something broken and form a new whole. It's an incredibly therapeutic art form. I love combining the old with the new, creating a marriage of sorts and giving items a second life. Glass can range from chunky and fierce to delicate and wispy. I never tire of the rich textures and reflective qualities of my tesserae.

What do you like about doing commissions?
Commissions help me grow as an artist. Whether it's incorporating a broken piece of heirloom china into a mosaic or matching colors in upholstery, it's always an exciting challenge. Some of my commissions have involved building a mosaic around a treasured family keepsake or found object. It means the world to me to be entrusted with something so close to someone's heart.

Eye-Catching Chicago Art

Chicago artist Jeremiah Ketner

Awesome Aussies

Quick, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Australia? Kangaroo.

You can't bring a 'roo home to Chicago, but you can import local Aussie artwork. Here's an idea that will make you jump for joy--a self portrait shipped form down under on madeit.

Chicago Art

Looking for beautiful and moderately priced artwork? U Gallery
has some gorgeous artwork done by student artists. Find artwork by students at Columbia and School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Art by
Maryam Garber
Kate Puenner

My First First Friday

Tomorrow will be my first time going to "First Fridays" at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Do two firsts make a second? I don't know, but I hope they don't make a third so said the two virgins.

http://www.mcachicago.org/programs/ff.php?page=friday

Tickets are $10 online plus a $3 handling fee. What exactly do they handle?
$15 at the door