2-4 p.m.

Megan Ripke, TWSA, IWS, RMNW, WIW will be our featured artist.

Megan has been painting her entire life. She had a very talented artist as a mother and inherited her mom’s artistic abilities. Megan grew up watching her mom draw and paint. Megan’s mom not only encouraged her artistic development at home; she was also Megan’s art teacher from 3^rd through 8^th grade. Megan’s mom loved painting flowers from her garden. Her mom recognized Megan’s artistic talent at a young age and did her best to foster those gifts.  Megan shares her mother’s love of flowers, and that continues to be a consistent theme in her paintings. Megan studied art and art education in college and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University of Nebraska in 2008.

Megan began entering watercolor competitions about 8 years ago. Since then, she has earned signature status with the Illinois Watercolor Society, Rocky Mountain National Watermedia, Women in Watercolor and the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. She’s always set aside time to paint, even though she has three young children. Megan loves sharing her gift of painting in the art classroom. She currently teaches an advanced watercolor class through McHenry County College and looks forward to returning to the classroom in a greater capacity in the future. 

Register here for the library: https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/14026675

More of Megan’s work can be seen at www.meganripke.com or @ripkefineart.

Rose Glow

Hollyhocks, 30″ x 22″

Take Flight

Tom Francesconi, AWS, NWS, TWSA, WW will be our featured artist.

Tom has earned Signature membership in numerous watercolor societies, including the Transparent Watercolor Society of America, of which he has been honored with ‘Master’ status. Tom has served as president of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. He has received many awards in regional and national exhibitions including the 1st Place Award at the 43rd Watercolor West Exhibition. In 2015, Tom’s painting was selected to travel to Shenzhen, China to be included in the National Watercolor Society’s International Biennial Exchange Exhibition. In 2020, Tom’s painting was chosen for inclusion in the NWS: 100 Years Exhibition and most recently, Tom’s painting was one of forty paintings selected to hang in the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, as a part of the National Watercolor Society’s 2024 Exchange Exhibit.

Tom has been teaching watercolor in Chicago for over 20 years. He also has conducted watercolor workshops throughout the United States, Canada, France, Italy, and Croatia. Tom has paintings held in the collections of Inland Real Estate Corporation, Oak Brook, IL, CNA Insurance Company, Chicago, IL, Morgan Stanley Financial Services Company, Chicago, IL, The Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, WI, and others along with many private collections throughout the United States. Tom’s work has been featured in numerous books and magazine articles.

Register here for the Library. https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/14026674

www.tomfrancesconi.com

Jim Brooksher will be our featured artist. “In my work, I transform actual places into “romantic settings”. My primary goal in painting is to capture the beauty of memorable places and inspire the viewers to visit the depicted locations. I make my works romantic and representational without looking too realistic or illustrative. My works often bring back a memory viewers can connect with. A noted trademark of my works is the use of accentuated color. Brilliant colors aid in capturing the viewer’s eye, and help in making scenes more romantic. I started drawing everything I saw when I was seven. My mom, seeing that I loved art, bought me an adult oil painting set, complete with harsh paint thinners. I started painting mostly animals, then area landscapes. My high school did not offer art classes (metal shop and wood shop were the closest things to art classes). I convinced my parents to help me do the mail-in classes offered by Art Instruction Schools (as advertised on TV), in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This exposed me to various media, including charcoal sketching, acrylics, pastels, ink drawing and even ceramics. My high school did not offer art classes (metal shop and wood shop were the closest things to art classes). I convinced my parents to help me do the mail-in classes offered by Art Instruction Schools (as advertised on TV), in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This exposed me to various media, including charcoal sketching, acrylics, pastels, ink drawing and even ceramics. I had several jobs after college, including design engineer, quality technician, and eventually an engineering manager at a Lake County Illinois pharmaceutical company. I still considered art as my primary focus. I started participating in summer art fairs to show my paintings, and now focus on watercolor paintings and oil paintings as my career. I turned an art hobby into a “side career” and eventually into a full-time business. I also do art demonstrations for schools and art leagues. I have participated in over 300 art fairs. All of my landscape works represent actual locations. The descriptions on the front of my paintings tell about the depicted scenes and they often give directions on how to visit the painted sights. I sometimes start painting on location to aid in capturing a specific mood. I then finish the paintings in my studio. My paintings of Midwest barns, lighthouses, Chicago scenes and mountainscapes are either done from multiple photos and/or from initial draft paintings started on location.”

Venarella Hinkle will be our guest demo artist.

Venarella first studied the medium of Watercolor under a local Watercolorist who used the medium for 30 plus years. She put her paint brush miles in weekly classes for 2 years and fell in love with the flow of water and pigment. Since then she has continued her education in this wonderful medium under well know Artists and has worked hard to develop her own style and skills. She has been featured in the McHenry County Magazine as Artist Showcase in 2013. Received highest auction bid at Rockford IL Anderson Gardens Captured on Canvas Plein Air Event in 2015, and has won first place in Beeblys Watercolor Painting November contest challenge in 2023. Venarella taught in person classes at Cherry Lane Farm in her home town for 2 years, and online via Zoom for 2 years during the pandemic years. I learned what it means to paint what you love. She now specializes in Pet Portraiture and in teaching others the amazing effects you can achieve with the beauty and transparency of Watercolor.

you can register here: https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/14026672

Maria Delton Guest Demo Artist.

Thank you Maria Delton for your wonderful demo at the IWS November 2024 meeting. Everyone truly enjoyed hearing about your career experiences in Italy and your many valuable lessons and tips in watercolor. Fun time for all.

Maria Delton. Guest artist at the IWS November demo meeting.

Illinois Watercolor Society Live, in-person Demo. Tony Armendariz.
Saturday June 1, 2024, 2pm. In-person and FREE to the public.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Rd

You must PREREGISTER online at Oak Brook Library website. Limited to 100. Click link to register.

https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/11424223

Tony Armendariz is an award-winning contemporary realist artist living and painting in Palatine, Illinois. His work focuses on figurative subjects rendered in watercolor. Graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, he studied under renowned watercolor instructor Irving Shapiro. He has won numerous awards in regional and national competitions and has exhibited his work in many group and solo exhibitions.

Tony is a signature member of many national artistic societies including the American Watercolor Society, the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and the Illinois Watercolor Society where he also served as director. He is represented by Hilliard Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tony Armendariz Artist Demo—Saturday June 1, 2024, 2pm

Open and FREE to the public. Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road
You must PREREGISTER at library website. Limited to 100.

As promised, the April demo meeting was truly a WET and WILD watercolor ride.

Thank you John Herron for a very dynamic, interactive event. Many folks went home with an original Herron painting thanks to an exciting artwork raffle.

Illinois Watercolor Society Live, in-person Demo
John Herron Artist Demo—Saturday April 6, 2024, 2pm.

In-person and FREE to the public.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Rd

You must PREREGISTER online at Oak Brook Library website.
Limited to 100. Click link to register.

https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/11424203

Wear your boots for this watercolor demo. John Herron is going to demonstrate and he uses a lot of water in his watercolors. He pours, he sprays, and sometimes even dunks his paintings in the sink to get the fluid and very loose effect that suits him. John will demo with a variety of tools including kabob sticks, razor blade, ink bottle nib, and even a large screw. He may even add a dash of salt to his work.
If you love to paint and you want to loosen up those brush strokes, this is the demo for you. John also enjoys teaching at The Evanston Art Center.

John Herron Artist Demo—Saturday April 6, 2024, 2pm
Open and FREE to the public. Oak Brook Public Library,
600 Oak Brook Road
You must PREREGISTER at library website. Limited to 100.

A big THANK YOU to Bruce Neville for his wonderful demo at the August membership meeting. Everyone in the full meeting room really enjoyed watching Bruce bring to life an inspiring, fluid,  watercolor.

Illinois Watercolor Society Live, in-person Demo
Bruce Neville Artist Demo—Saturday August 5th, 2023, 2pm.

In-person and FREE to the public.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Rd
You must PREREGISTER online at Oak Brook Library website.
Limited to 100. Click link.

https://oak-brook.libcal.com/event/9804804

Bruce Allan Neville is a signature member of the Ohio Watercolor Society, an Associate member of the American Watercolor Society, and a Signature member of the Cincinnati Art Club. Neville has won numerous awards and honors. He also has extensive teaching and workshop experience throughout the Midwest. 

Neville’s style and technique were published in the “The Watercolor Technique of 23 International Artist”. My goal is to develop not a style of painting but a way of thinking, interpreting, and being creative. Each painting conveys a unique experience leading the viewer into a new way of seeing and understanding”.

Bruce Neville Artist Demo—Saturday August 5th, 2023, 2pm
Open and FREE to the public.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road
You must PREREGISTER at library website. Limited to 100.