Chicago with lakeshore drive
When I first came to the U.S. I went to school (Eureka College) in Illinois for two years. Chicago was the big city I went to through many a times. When we go to Indiana to visit Grandma Aileen, many times we fly through Chicago. I have seen that city from the air, from many directions at many different times of the day and night. My nephew, Milind and his family, whom I visit often, is settled in Iowa City, Iowa. Chicago is the hub for many activities for them. Indian grocery shopping, arrivals and departures for India, socially active Indians and the big Indian temple, all are in Chicago. As a result, I have been to Chicago many a times and know the city, it’s museums, lakeshore drive, magnificent mile the gallery scene etc. well. However as a typical midwestern city Chicago is spread all over and does not have any mountains or vista points to view the city from. As a result it is hard to get one comprehensive view of the city. On several occasions, when I was there, I had done some watercolors and pencil sketches.
In 2003 I had a show here at a local gallery and after seeing the New York, Seattle, California, Iowa paintings, one of the viewer asked me if I had any paintings of Chicago. Well that was just enough for me to be spurred on to the next linear painting. For my research, I went to Chicago. I did more sketches, took pictures and bought postcards and absorbed as much of the city through osmosis, as possible.
After that I xeroxed and enlarged four different views of Chicago. Three of these were arial views from the postcards and the forth one from my own sketch which I did while sitting by the lake and looking towards the John Hancock building. I cut and pasted those enlarged views together like a puzzle. I had to work through the distortions, some buildings appeared twice. Those were corrected and the others had to be moved. Lake Michigan and the river had to be re-shaped. All this was required to make a comprehensive view of the city. The view I came up with is made up from four different points of view (eye levels). No such real view is possible. All the landmarks, the magnificent mile, the museums, the waterfront and all the tall buildings are left intact. Any person who is familiar with Chicago should be able to take a ride in their memory, on that Lakeshore Drive in my painting. At the same time, they can see the tall buildings including the Sears Tower in the distance and see the vanishing point of the one point perspective on the distant horizon!
I want the viewer to see the painting as a familiar place and have many memories evoked by it, also. I love to push each art element (composition, value, perspective, etc.) beyond its boundaries, to make it do its utmost, to make it reveal the views of everyday reality (Truth) that are not possible without the Arts and Aesthetics.