Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2012 Watercolor and ink
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Montrose Harbor Sparrow
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2012
In the winter the birds of Uptown Chicago almost have the entire lakefront to themselves. Unluckily for the humble Sparrow that would include the Peregrine Falcon and a big Arctic Snow Owl with a hearty appetite, this year wintering in the Windy City.
The Sparrows know, stay in the trees.......
Friday, February 10, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Majestic in Motion?
Dated but in their own way timeless merchandise still in the window as if the owner fled before an advancing storm, or a team of auditors.
And then one fine day down came the sign of the once Majestic Men Wear sign. Beneath the sign the terracotta got its first taste of sunlight in years, the pigeons looked rustled and ruffled. The grime was there but the decay was less then imagined. The Majestic looked magnificent!
And then the months went by...
and the pigeon poop piled high......
And now...just this week we have signs of life...something stirring. The door is open, a generator is humming and a fresh dumpster...lets have a look....
It looks like they are having a decades in waiting eviction party for the once fashionable Majestic Mens Wear. We got vinyl siding, Christmas deco, a silver styrofoam head, etc....typical stuff.
I confess I thought about grabbing the head as a trophy...but I gotta small place and too much junk as it is.
But seriously Folks......
This storefront is in a precarious state of limbo, the tracks above it are scheduled to be rebuilt with the Wilson Station. I asked the General Manager of the Redline Ron Ekers about it, he said there is no plan for the storefront.
I hope it does NOT get demolished...there is a meeting about the future of the Redline next Tuesday 2/7 at the Broadway Armory 5-7:30pm, another one a day earlier at the Evanston Library. If you think this historic Majestic storefront should remain and become a vibrant part of the Uptown fabric one day please show up and speak up.
The CTA will be soliciting feedback...feed the beast!
The CTA will be soliciting feedback...feed the beast!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
January Skyline from Uptown
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2012
The Chicago skyline in January monotone mode.
We need that occasional colorful sunset, a vivid imagination, and a sense of humor to make it to Spring.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Giraffe and the Rat
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2012
The Giraffe and the Rat are neither friend nor foe.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Uptown's Aragon Ballroom...Hop on the Bus and Party With Us
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The Chicago Holiday Train!
Speeding on its way north beneath downtown Chicago. The holiday train is a colorful break from the routine.....Friday, December 16, 2011
Littleton Arts Over Uptown
Photo Credit: Jeffrey Littleton
I took these photos from a Cessna at about a 1000' from over west Lakeview. The plane is owned and operated by talented aerial photographer and pilot Allan Goldstein who invited me along.
You can see in the top photo Sheridan Park section between the cemeteries of Graceland and St. Boniface, my home neighborhood. It was a bumpy ride up the last week, gusty 30+ mph gusts. I still got off a few shots with the Blackberry!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Uptown the Morning After......
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2011
This is a quick sketch from a photo I saw in the Uptownupdate blog. It would make a nice painting I thinks........
I made a coupla change like changing the "WIGS" on the sign to "UPTOWN" and moving Uptown Bikes over a bit.
On the same block we had a Hollywood-style barricade situation, as you can clearly see all is well and good again!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Uptown #1
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2011
The (future) Uptown Music District
I've been thinking about the Uptown Music District, a mural, and what to do. It is time to sketch this out...one at a time until its right.
Uptown has so much content and material to visualize.......
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Polk St. Mural ...Step by Step ::UPDATED::
In the background we see Sears Tower and the Custom House.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Redline Quick Sketch Drawn....Between Jackson and Wilson Station Uptown
After another trip..its finished!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
A Proposal for a Fine Art Mural for the Wilson Avenue CTA @ Truman CCC
Update:
This particular project is going to be tabled for the time being. While that may not sound like good news the results from this post have been completely positive.
I recieved an email from Alderman James Cappleman yesterday (Monday), no less then the very next business day after posting this. He informed me that there is a substantial renovation planned for this property although the details have yet to be finalized by the CTA. So this particular wall is going to have to wait until the dust settles so to speak..
I am very happy that James got back so promptly a very good sign indeed. And the comments left on this post as well as several sent directly have been positive and have given me ideas. I feel confident our Uptown is ready for the arts.
There are plenty of other walls, public property is most appropriate for this. I would not feel right volunteering to improve private property, and private property tends to change hands, owners can be fickle, only under special circumstances. They can always pay me though just like the plumber and the tuckpointer.
I believe this is the way to propose a public artwork...publicly. The community can have a say, social media can be the catalyst to produce a genuine piece of art we can all believe in, no easy feat actually.
I have another wall nearby in mind, please forward any location suggestions you may have. I will be posting up another proposal sooner then later.
A mural just may be painted in this location eventually, thank you everybody and Alderman James.
Our Art is our Culture, and Uptown is our Home!
Cheers,
Jeffrey Littleton
This is the wall facing east on Wilson Ave, from the Truman College campus, it is CTA property. The size of the painted area is 16" x 131/2", So the mural itself would have a dimensions of 16" x 12" by starting 1 1/2" off the ground. It is primed and good to go, the suface is course and rough but appears to be in pretty good shape, I can work with the texture.
In a meeting with the Red line supervisor Ron Ekers and Mercy Housing TL I asked at the very end about doing a public art project such as this, he referred me to our Alderman.
And it was not a couple weeks later after a community meeting at Margate Park while chatting with Alderman James Cappleman he, completely unprompted, said what a great idea it would be to have artists do some work on the large CTA property at Wilson Station. He believes it would be great to paint the many pillars crossing Broadway artistically, which differs from my mural proposal here but in the same spirit,
I share Alderman James enthusiasm for painting the now ugly pillars, that would be a larger in scope project, including traffic barricades and surface preparation. This mural is a very actionable project that is good-to-go right now! I own a scaffold and any other equipment necessary to complete the job. Below is the materials I would need because the wall is white...seriously this is it:
- 1 Gallon of White paint
- 2 Quarts of Black paint
- 1 Quart of Penetrol (as a medium)
- 1 Quart of Paint Thinner
No artist fee....I live here......
This would be a public artwork so I am proposing this to the public as well as to our Alderman James to benefit from your feedback. I believe with social media and the like we have a new tool for public art, more participation is possible before the brush gets wet, avoid unwelcome surprises after the paint dries. The public can actually be a part of the creative process, in creating this composition.
I would like to publish the final composition for feedback from the community before painting,
The proposal is a mono-tone/ black and white image as you see in the two drawings above, perhaps with the landscape in the top half and the El below, a combination. Or a purely Chinese literati style landscape, or an urban street-scape? All suggestions and comments are welcome.
Cheers,
Jeffrey Littleton
jefflittleton21@yahoo.com
The Next Step:
When it can be determined there is support for this from the community in general, and the expressed support (non-committal for now)from Alderman Cappleman, I will prepare a drawn-to-scale finished drawing of the proposed mural. Then I will put it up for critiques/critisms, make revisions where and if necessary, or start all over again.
This is intended to be a FINE ART mural, by...of....and for the community.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The secret life of a watercolour painting..............Step 1...then 2........and 3rd and last.
Artist: Jeffrey Littleton 2011
Step 1 of ?.....this is on watercolour paper, a big 'ol 18" x 24" sheet. Basically just re-doing and mixing up an earlier composition....all done!
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