At the IWS October meeting, David Dallison took everyone on a wonderful world tour. It was truly a multimedia presentation of his travels and paintings that celebrate humanity’s diverse cultures and exotic locales. In addition, he gave an inspiring demonstration of his wc technique. Thanks David.

Illinois Watercolor Society Demonstration
Saturday, October 6, 2018, 10 AM. FREE to all.

Guest Artist David E. Dallison
Oak Brook Public Library,
600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523

David has been a professional artist since graduating from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Canada, in 1987. Since then, he has lived twenty years in the Chicago area, two years in Munich, Germany, and two years in Guangzhou, China. He now lives in Waukegan, Illinois.

Over the last 25 years, he has explored and painted the people and landscapes of diverse cultures, such as Italy, Turkey, Viet Nam, France, Russia, Ireland, England, Spain, The Czech Republic, Slovenia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan, Cambodia, etc. Encountering exotic locales and diverse cultures through painting has allowed him to observe what is shared and common to much of humanity. His paintings tell the story of his travels and are a celebration of this earth and the places, events, and people that particularly inspire him. 

His wonderful watercolors can be found on his website at www.davidedallison.com

Enjoy his live watercolor demonstration at The Oak Brook Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523.

Demonstration by Ken Call, Saturday, August 4, 2018

Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523
Saturday, August 4, 2018. 10 AM – 12 PM. FREE to all.
Guest Artist Ken Call

Born and raised in Rochelle, Illinois, I went on to graduate from the American Academy of Art in 1980 with an Associates Degree in Illustration and Watercolor. I have worked as a national freelance artist for many years and spent 1993 and 1994 studying and painting in Paris, France. I am now living in Northbrook Illinois with my wife and two children.

After beginning my career as a studio artist, I soon branched out on my own, beginning a successful freelance career, which to date has led to the creation of over 500 illustrations for books, magazines, art publishers, advertising agencies and corporations.  In the last few years, I have made the transition to fine art and portraiture. Many of my originals are hanging in galleries and homes across the country. Several awards have led to Signature status in the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Missouri Watercolor Society, Montana Watercolor Society along with being a Master Signature member with the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and Illinois Watercolor Society.

Ken Call Watercolor Demonstration.

Non-Members are welcome to attend. FREE to all.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook IL,

For more information please contact: IWS Meeting Chair,
dan@dandanielson(dot)com

Eileen Mueller Neill at our June 2018 meeting

Our guest demo artist at our June meeting was Eileen Mueller Neill. Eileen brought many of beautiful original pieces to the delight of everyone. In addition to the demo, she also shared her thought process from the conceptual beginning of an idea to the finished detailed brush strokes. Thank-you Eileen.

Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523
Saturday, June 2, 2018. 10 AM – 12 PM. FREE to all.
Guest Artist Eileen Mueller Neill

Be sure not to miss the upcoming IWS demo by Eileen Mueller Neill on Saturday, June 2nd. It promises to be an inspiring and informative event for all watercolorists.

Eileens formal art training began in 1958, at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. There, she took her first watercolor class and began experimenting with paper sculpture.

After graduating from high school, she continued her art education on scholarship at Columbus College of Art and Design, in Columbus, Ohio, where she received a BFA in 1965 and was later awarded a honorary MFA in 1993.

Currently Eileen works out of her studio in Riverwoods, Illinois. There, she has been illustrating and designing for publishers and advertising agencies over the past forty years.

She has exhibited across the country, winning several watercolor awards as well as admiration from young and old.  

Non-Members are welcome to attend. FREE to all.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook IL,
For more information please contact: IWS Meeting Chair,
dan at dandanielson.com

It was standing room only at the IWS April meeting for Peggy Macnamaras wonderful demo presentation. Her demo was accompanied by a large display of her work, from ants to zebras. Next demo, Saturday, June 2.

 Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523
Saturday, April 7, 2018. 10 AM – 12 PM
Guest Artist Peggy Macnamara.

My work is about the study of nature. I hesitate putting myself in such a grand tradition, but there it is.  I admire those that have gone before and find myself studying old techniques while pushing in new directions. Unlike science where those that follow build on the knowledge discovered before them, artists seem to emulate and eventually grow into the concerns of their time. I believe that by looking carefully at the entirety of nature I will learn to see better and gather an understanding of form and color that will make me a better artist.
Peggy Macnamara

Non-Members are welcome to attend. FREE to all.
Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook IL,
For more information please contact: dan at dandanielson.com

A BIG thank-you to Beth Shadur for her very educational and inspiring presentation at our October meeting. Beth shared with the group many interesting techniques along with some motivating ways to capture life’s spirit with art.

Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook, IL  60523

Saturday, October 7, 2017. 10 AM – 12 PM

Guest Artist Beth Shadur

Beth Shadur is an artist who has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Drawing Center in New York City; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio; and at the Colorado Springs Art Museum, Colorado Springs, CO.  She has created over 150 large public murals as public, private and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain.  She is an Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council in Chicago, IL.  She has taught and served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities, including Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO; and as a visiting artist and scholar at Paradise Valley Community College in Scottsdale, AZ.  Shadur’s work appears in many publications, books and catalogues, including Twentieth Century Watercolors, Abbeville Press; The Special Unit, Barlinnie Prison, Its Evolution Through Art, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Scotland; Community Murals: The People’s Art, Associated University Press, NJ; and Art and Cartography, Art Institute of Chicago.  Her mural work in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, Scotland is included in the archives of the Peoples Palace Museum in Glasgow.
Non-Members are welcome to attend. FREE to all.

Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook IL,

For more information please contact: IWS Meeting Chair,
dan at dandanielson.com