:: Default colors: black, grey, and a hint of red ::

:: I love fall blooms…inside ::

:: Missing Istanbul and it’s delicious çay ::

 :: Favorite place in Chicago for macarons: Vanille Patisserie ::
{ favorite flavors: lavender, rose, and cassis }

Have a great weekend!

:: Thinking of Paris! ::

:: New favorite Chicago spot: the Apple Caramel Doughnut from Glazed and Infused ::

:: Favorite go-to look: All black with a scarf ::

:: Sugar cubes from P.O.S.H. for my espresso ::

Have a great weekend!

This short clip is a collaboration preformed by Suzanne Cleary, Peter Harding, and video artist Jonny Reed from  Up & Over It.  They are perfectly synchronized throughout this entire clip – it’s so cool! I tried to follow along and looked absolutely ridiculous. Ha! Check out their website for more videos, theatre, and cabaret shows.

Cheri Lee Charlton is a Chicago-based artist. She is a traditionally trained painter and currently moonlights as an illustrator, muralist, and college instructor. Most of her undergrad and graduate work was completed in Ohio with a year spent studying in Florence, Italy. While living in Florence, Cheri decided to fully pursue a degree in fine art; gaining inspiration from the art surrounding her and walking down the same cobblestone streets as Renaissance masters Leonardo Da Vinci and Botticelli.

A brief statement from Cheri:
I have a style that is evident throughout all my work, may it be coined fine art or illustration. It’s always described as colorful but I’ve heard it descried as whimsical, strange, naughty, cute, and sometimes humorous.  I am a fan of complex busy compositions that allow the eye to wander through and be rewarded with hidden details. I love using organic graphic outlines that I know are inspired from hours of watching cartoons and Disney films.  The colors I use are inspired from my love of fashion magazines and textiles. When I scan through the pages of Vogue it’s not just for fashion tips I search for color pallets and patterns within those pages. 

I also had parents who exposed me to not only great music from the 1960’s and 70’s but also the psychedelic posters and album art that accompanied it; surely this has acted as an inspiration to my use of organic line and sometimes acid bright color pallets. In addition to Saturday morning cartoons my style and the content of my work has also been inspired by my love of commercial art and illustration from the late 1800’s early 1900’s.  I’m a collector of Victorian valentines and advertisements which I appropriate imagery for a lot of my illustrative work.  My future goals are to write and illustrate a children’s book and continue to cover walls with colorful murals. 

Please find more work, information about current and upcoming exhibitions, and work to purchase for your interior space on her website: Cheri Lee Charlton. She is also on Facebook: Cheri Lee Charlton

Work by photographer Abelardo Morell is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. Abelardo creates these beautifully juxtaposed images by using a technique called camera obscura. This is established by completely darkening a room with black plastic and cutting a small hole into the plastic allowing light to pass through onto the subject (or room). Then using a large-format camera to capture the image on the wall and expose it on film. As you can see from these pictures, he has traveled the world creating many series and individual pieces of work. This exhibition in on display until September 2, 2013. Go see it this weekend!