Art Friends, October 31, 2007

Hello Everyone –

Does anyone NOT like chocolate cake? I don’t know why it took me so long to do a chocolate cake. Probably because I didn’t see a good one until now.

Chocolate Cake, 9”x12", acrylic, $300, framed.

© 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur

I decided to focus on the one cake, as I have been doing recently. When you work on a single item, the shape takes on a new importance. In addition, this allows me to experiment on the background with shadows and highlights. Notice how the light on the bakery pan follows the cake. The chocolate color lets me use warm hues. I also had to experiment with new techniques to apply the long green ribbons.

Warmly,
Barbara Sistak Baur, Artist

Now Online http://barbarabaur.blogspot.com/
-- I have just completed another commission – this is a painting of a dream house. To see it, go online and click on the Commissions topic.
-- I have started a new topic, Event Pics. When I am at a show, I try to remember to take some pictures and post them online. New today are pictures of the Chicago Art Open and the Fall into the Arts festival at the Walkup Heritage Farms in Crystal Lake. Go online and click the Events Pics topic. And, if you see me at a show, remind me to pull out my camera, will you?

Now On Display
-- Lemon or Cherry? is a bakery painting that is part of the Village of Algonquin Public Art Display. This will be on display until November 2008. It is being shown at a public school so it might be hard to see. But, if you want to view the painting, go online and click the Bakery Art topic. Scroll down until you see it.

On the Easel
--Another commission –This is an expressionistic painting of a vintage tractor. It is really different and I love doing it. I can’t wait to show you when it is done.
--The Friends of the Algonquin Public Library have commissioned two of my art tables with a library theme. I am just getting started on those. More on these as they progress. In the meantime, to see an art table with car art, go to my car art blog, http://baurart.blogspot.com/ then click the topic Car Art Table Top.

Barb's Blog
Fresh Paint! - Paintings, Sketches and Studies
http://barbarabaur.blogspot.com/

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Art Friends and all images are ©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur and all rights are reserved. If you wish to copy this material to other publications or mail lists, great!! Just let me know so I can give you permission. Thanks for your respect.

Barbara Baur Art
Lively, Textural, Vibrant
3404 Highland Dr.
Island Lake IL 60042
and
2944 S. Harlem #4
Riverside IL 60546
708-372-2798
barbarabaur@comcast.net

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake, © 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, 11"x14", acrylic, $400

In my on-the-shelf paint box, I found a never-opened tube of "structural" paint I picked up some years ago. It came with plastic tips like the kind you get with cookie decorators. The idea is you replace the cap with a tip and then squeeze the paint into the shape you want. And as luck would have it, the tube I found had orange paint! Okay, I said to myself, this should be just the ticket for me since I was in the middle of doing a Carrot Cake, shown here. I am pleased with the resulting carrots and thought I had solved my textural shaping problems. Unfortunately, this paint is no longer made -- so it is back to doing it by scratch for me!
Here is the pie part of "Carrot Cake." It has lots of volume.
This piece has some wonderful texture. Here is the signature.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake, © 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, 9"x12", acrylic, $300

A chocolate cake is one of my favorites. I liked the green trim on this cake. I found this cake in a small restaurant in Wauconda, Il.Here is a close up of the topping and cake itself.

Here is the signature. I am working on combining my new name with my old name. I acquired the new name only last year.

Art Friends, October 15, 2007

Hello Everyone,
In my on-the-shelf paint box, I found a never-opened tube of "structural" paint I picked up some years ago. It came with plastic tips like the kind you get with cookie decorators. The idea is you replace the cap with a tip and then squeeze the paint into the shape you want. And as luck would have it, the tube I found had orange paint! Okay, I said to myself, this should be just the ticket for me since I was in the middle of doing Carrot Cake, shown here. I am pleased with the resulting carrots and thought I had solved my textural shaping problems. Unfortunately, this paint is no longer made -- so it is back to doing it by scratch for me!

Carrot Cake, 11"x14", acrylic, $400

©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur

Carrot Cake will be shown this weekend at the Fall Into The Arts Festival this Sunday, Oct 21, from 10am to 4 pm., at Walkup Heritage Farm & Gardens, 5215 Walkup Rd., Crystal Lake, Il (half mile north of Rt. 176). The art sale is a benefit for Pets in Need Midwest. I will have a booth and will be showing many pieces of art. The setting is a beautiful little co-op farm with pumpkins, corn and fresh veggies. Come out for some fall fun and art.

Warmly,
Barbara Sistak Baur, Artist

Now Online http://barbarabaur.blogspot.com/
-- 2 New Bakery Paintings. I have included close ups of the textue. Check them out – click the Bakery Art topic.
-- New information on how to obtain an artwork. Click on the How to Purchase topic.

Now On Display
-- Fall Into The Art art sale to benefit Pets In Need Midwest. Sunday, Oct 21, from 10am to 4pm at the Walkup Heritage Farm and Gardens, 5215 Walkup Rd., Crystal Lake, IL. For more info: www.petsinneedmidwest.org and www.walkupheritagefarm.com
--Grand Bakery at the 10th annual "Chicago Art Open," from October 4, to October 27 on the second floor of the Iron Studios, 3636 S. Iron St. in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. Sponsored by the Chicago Artists' Coalition (CAC). http://www.caconline.org/ArtOpen.asp

In The News
I sent a simple little press release to the local paper in Riverside, IL, The Landmark, and they decided to do a feature article. It turned out to be really nice article with some great pictures. Here is the link:
http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=3046&TM=85091.52

On the Easel
I am working on two commissions right now -- both of them gifts for spouses. One is a rendering of the house the couple will build in the north woods. The other honors a favorite vehicle -- a classic tractor! Fun!

Barb's Blog
Fresh Paint! - Paintings, Sketches and Studies
http://barbarabaur.blogspot.com/

Yes, please go ahead and forward this to a friend.

Feedback and correspondence are always welcome.

If this email has been forwarded to you and you would like to continue receiving Art Friends, click barbarabaur@comcast.net and type "Yes, Art Friends." On the other hand, if you would like to stop receiving Art Friends, I understand. Click reply to this email and just type “unsubscribe.” Thanks for your friendship!

Art Friends and all images are ©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur and all rights are reserved. If you wish to copy this material to other publications or mail lists, great!! Just let me know so I can give you permission. Thanks for your respect.

Barbara Baur Art
Lively, Textural, Vibrant
3404 Highland Dr.
Island Lake IL 60042
and
2944 S. Harlem #4
Riverside IL 60546
708-372-2798
barbarabaur@comcast.net

In the News

Check out this great article in the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark Newspaper. Riverside-Brookfield Landmark newspaper.

Chicago Art Open

My friend, Nancy Peters, came to the opening reception of the Chicago Art Open, Oct. 4, 2007, at the Iron Studios in Chicago. We viewed more than 300 artworks that evening. Here she is "tasting" Grand Bakery, the work I had in the show.
Here I am posing with my painting.

Colorful Woman

This was done during a workshop with oil pastel with an acylic wash on watercolor paper. I wanted to use different colors to show light and dark patches.

Artist's Statement - Bakeries

Ahhh, bakeries! Who can resist them? Bakeries are such a treat for all of our senses. The hypnotizing smell lures us in. The shelves of delights entice us as we hear the pans slide onto racks. We anticipate the sensation on our fingers and tongues -- and they do taste wonderful. When I visit colorful and bountiful bakeries and I am so mesmerized by the sweet offerings, my senses demand I devour them! So I do -- with paint!

My art career is never static and never completely mastered. Everyday, I grow and expand my skills. In each painting, I practice new techniques and ideas. Sometimes they work and sometimes not. They are never wasted. Vincent Van Gogh said, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” I continue to learn art on my own and through a variety of studies.

About the Artist

Barbara Sistak Baur has her studio space in Island Lake, Il., and she maintains a residence in Riverside, IL, where her husband, Tom Baur, has resided since 1969. Her work has been seen
through out the area in venues such as the Norris Cultural Center in St. Charles, Il; Woodstock Arts Center in Woodstock, Il.; the Algonquin, Il, Public Art Program; and the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. She participates in a variety of area art events such as the recent Chicago Art Open art exhibition at the Iron Studios in Bridgeport and the upcoming Riverside Arts Center Member Show.

Printable Resume

Click on the resume and it will enlarge. Then you can view it or print it.

Geechi in Studio

Geechi in Studio, 12"x9", charcoal on paper, in the sketchbook
© 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

Here is Geechi on her chair in the studio. I caught her while she was sitting quietly. So long as I didn’t talk to her, she kept pretty still. But the level of sketchiness demonstrates the very short time I have to sketch her. Because I never know how long I have, I concentrated on getting just her more finished. By the way, the longest sketch I ever did of Geechi was about 45 minutes and that was the portrait in the first entry. Most are 2, 3, 5, 1o or 15 minutes.

Geechi Sunning

Geechi Sunning, 12"x9", charcoal on paper, in the sketchbook
©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

Geechi is lounging in a sunbeam here, one of her very favorite things to do. And it is one place where she would stay for a while without moving. Every afternoon when the sun came in the window, I would find her like this.

Geechi on Chair

Geechi on Chair, 9"x12", charcoal on paper, in sketchbook
©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

This is another day when I caught Geechi on her studio chair. I guess she was feeling lazy because she stayed there quite a while. But she does have that “annoyed cat” expression on her face that says she is losing patience with this nonsense. You see, I would get down on the floor right in front of her to work. Of course, she would turn away often and I would chirp, “Geechi, tsk tsk, “ until she looked back at me. Come to think of it, I might be annoyed by this, too.

Geechi Moving

Geechi Moving, not sure of size, charcoal on paper, in sketchbook
©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

Okay, here is a sketch that is almost entirely from memory because Geechi would not stop moving. She would turn her head this way and that way, shift her body from side to side. I kept sketching her pose after she moved and hoped that she would move back. But she just got up and walked away. Sometimes, she had no patience for me.

Back of Geechi

Back of Geechi, charcoal on paper, in sketchbook
© 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

Sometimes, it was easier to sit in back of Geechi, If she was half-dozing, as cats do, she wouldn’t pay any attention to me because she didn’t know what I was up to behind her. While I could get a finished sketch, it is kinda boring.

Contour Cat

Contour Cat, 8"x5", pen and ink, in the sketchbook
© Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

Sometimes it takes just a couple of strokes to capture an image. I got lucky on this day using the ink pen.

Cat Study

Cat Study, 11"x14", pencil on paper
©Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

This is a sketch I did from a photograph. I was working on a painting and trying to get her shape right.

Geechi and Majorie

Geechi and Majorie, approx 18"x24", acrylic on board
© Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom
And here is the painting. By now you recognize Geechi. Majorie is the other cat. They used to like to hang out on the bathroom sink. Don’t ask me why. I found it touching. They are both gone now so this painting is very special to me.

Cat Faces

So far, all of the sketches are fairly finished – but that wasn’t the norm. What follows is a series of fast cat-face sketches that I was able to grab before Geechi said, in actions, “I’m outta here.”

Cat Bodies

I captured both of my cats over the years in various poses and at various levels of skills. In no particular order, here are several of them.

Final Reflection

Final Reflection, 8"x5", pencil, in the sketchbook

© Barbara Sistak Baur, cat mom

This sketch is is very old – certainly one of the first I did of the cats from very early in my career. Technically it is not notable but it captures the delight and surprise the little cat found in looking through the glass door. Maybe it is a little bit of an introspective of myself as I started on my career. What wonders did she see out there? What wonders did I envision for myself? Good bye, little Geechi. I miss you terribly.

House in the U.P.

This is a dream house. A friend of mine is planning to move to the upper peninsula of Michigan and she wants to build this house. But it will be a couple of years or so before that happens. So she decided to create her future home on canvas. She provided me with house plans and her dreams. From there, it took on a life its own. This is a gift for her husband on their anniversary. They know they have a lot of work to do before they get their house. In the meantime, they can hold on to this dream painting. It is called, House in the UP, © 2007 Barbara Sistak Baur, 9"x 12", acrylic on board, framed.
Detail showing color and brush strokes.