Theolia Norwood
Born: 1936, Benton County, MS..
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Theolia Norwood started making art as a child and started creating in earnest when he was 17. Planning to move to New York City to become a famous artist, he made it as far as Chicago before he ran out of travel money. The art and architecture of Chicago inspired him and he became serious about making art. Theolia worked in the fashion industry at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's as well as modeling. When he retired he became a full-time artist. Ideas came from the nature, and memories of his childhood in the South.
Severe burns from a studio fire crystallized Theolia's goals as an artist, he wanted to work fast, and in as many different directions as possible. "They told me I would never be able to paint again, or live independently, on my own." Now he savors and uses every minute of his time, making artwork and sharing his stories.
Norwood creates atmospheric landscapes reminiscent both of the early Impressionists and of the Romantic painters. Scenes of forests, wetlands, and dramatic rock formations, many inspired by Norwood's boyhood memories of rural Mississippi, depict nature at its most sublime. But Norwood's compositions, in pastel, charcoal, or washes of color, appear on flattened cardboard boxes, discarded shipping containers and cartons. The materials he employs are the stuff of refuse; the vision he sets down upon them is the stuff of fantasy and fine art..
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Project Onward Artist: Fernando Ramirez
Project Onward Artist: Fernando Ramirez..
Born: January 01, 1977..
RELATED LINKS..
# Work-in-Progress, by Fernando Ramirez..
# Portraits in the Park..
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My work is a more colorful view of reality."
"I realized I would be an artist at around five years old. All throughout school, art was a way for me to meet people. I was at Gallery 37 for many years, and became efficient at painting on several types of surfaces and on unusual shapes. I try to do well on whatever I'm working on - I try to include all the colors, so one is bound to have their favorite somewhere. I work by the motto "quality is not an act, it's a habit". I like working at Project Onward because I get to practice and learn from other artists. I feel I specialize on portraits and cityscapes, but can also copy any style and restore damaged work.."
Fernando Ramirez was born in 1977 in Guanajuato, Mexico and moved at the age of three to Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Perhaps the most important and popular artist at Chicago's celebrated youth arts program, Gallery 37, Fernando completed numerous commissioned art projects including portraits of Mayor and Mrs. Daley, as well as many visiting dignitaries from around the world. He has created a large body of work enjoyed by Chicago residents and visitors alike. Fernando continues to paint colorful scenes of Chicago's famous locales, and enjoys a unique niche in painting three-dimensional objects. He continues to be a popular commission artist and is available to draw portraits for the public at the Project Onward Studio..
Project Onward Artist: Michael Smith
Michael Smith
Born:. 1984, Chicago, IL
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Michael Smith is an artist with autism who also lives with mental illness and hearing impairment. As an apprentice artist in his teens at Gallery 37, Michael developed a unique personal style that appeared to draw upon fashion design and illustration techniques of the 1940's. Created with colored pencils and pastels, his signature compositions were orderly depictions of fancy dresses, elaborate ladies' hats, and stylized, doll-like faces. As he grew into adulthood and joined the artistic ranks of Project Onward, Michael's fashion-oriented drawings began to become more abstract. Figures once clearly defined began to blur under clouds of mark-making, their features and limbs barely suggested. The sense of mystery that his work evokes has only deepened with time, and Michael's drawings evoke questions as well as admiration. Who are the subjects of his work? Are we viewers seeing the same things that the artist sees? Michael describes his older work as "more finished"; his current body of work is, he says, "more advanced"..
Born:. 1984, Chicago, IL
Read more from the Project Onward website click here ..
Michael Smith is an artist with autism who also lives with mental illness and hearing impairment. As an apprentice artist in his teens at Gallery 37, Michael developed a unique personal style that appeared to draw upon fashion design and illustration techniques of the 1940's. Created with colored pencils and pastels, his signature compositions were orderly depictions of fancy dresses, elaborate ladies' hats, and stylized, doll-like faces. As he grew into adulthood and joined the artistic ranks of Project Onward, Michael's fashion-oriented drawings began to become more abstract. Figures once clearly defined began to blur under clouds of mark-making, their features and limbs barely suggested. The sense of mystery that his work evokes has only deepened with time, and Michael's drawings evoke questions as well as admiration. Who are the subjects of his work? Are we viewers seeing the same things that the artist sees? Michael describes his older work as "more finished"; his current body of work is, he says, "more advanced"..
Project Onward Artist: Ryan Tepich
Project Onward Artist: Ryan Tepich..
January 01, 1988.. Chicago, IL..
RELATED LINKS..
# Work-in-Progress, by Ryan Tepich..
Read more from the Project Onward website click here..
Ryan Tepich is a meticulous draftsman, fascinated by the mysteries of light and dark. A diligent student of art historical iconography, Ryan finds inspiration in angels of all kinds, from chubby babies with fluffy wings to avenging angels with flaming swords. The images of Ryan's peculiar company of heaven are meticulously rendered in charcoal, ink, and watercolor on paper, and were featured in his recent solo exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center's Project Onward Gallery. Like many individuals with autism, Ryan's way of seeing the world is in segments - in series of minute details rather than "the big picture." As a result, his completed drawings are incredibly intricate, with details and colors rendered flawlessly from the images he uses as source material. Yet his drawings are not "realistic" in any conventional sense, because the whole is delightfully other than the sum of its parts. He says, "I really like showing my artwork because I like when people say nice things about my art." Ryan has worked at Project Onward since 2007.
Project Onward Artist: Sereno Wilson
Project Onward Artist: Sereno Wilson..
Born: January 01, 1979.. Germany..
RELATED LINKS..
# Artwork of Sereno Wilson..
Read more from the Project Onward website click here..
Sereno Wilson is known for his use of glitter. Originally born in Germany, Sereno moved to Chicago at the age of one and was identified as an artist by his teachers at a young age. As part of Gallery 37 during his high school years he worked on murals and became very skilled - this technical skill has helped him in developing a unique style using glitter, painting, and cardboard.
Sereno has quickly created a sensational body of work. Glitter has become a means of creating good luck, and his images of famous hip hop artists and actresses, as well as his portraiture for visitors to the Project Onward studio make him a big hit. At the age of 30, Sereno has lofty goals "I'm going to hit the jackpot with my work!"
Project Onward Artist: Lucy Woodhouse
Project Onward Artist: Lucy Woodhouse..
Born: 1985, Chicago, IL..
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Lucy Woodhouse visual reduces her subject matter to strong images of black and white. Drawing in pen of plant life, textile designs and the human figure demonstrate her broad range of interest. Both decorative and modern, Lucy's artwork comes from a place of deep concentration, and attention to patterning and contrast. She is a graduate of the post-secondary program, P.A.C.E. at National-Louis University in Skokie, Illinois and has been with Project Onward since 2010.
Project Onward Artist: George Zuniga
Project Onward Artist: George Zuniga
Born: 1982, Chicago, IL..
RELATED LINKS..
# Work-in-Progress, by George Zuniga..
# Work-in-Progress, by George Zuniga..
# Artwork of George Zuniga..
Read more from the Project Onward website click here..
George Zuniga's bold compositions and swift strokes, rendered in pastel, charcoal, and pencil, are examples of Artism, a term Zuniga coined to describe the work of an artist with autism. A self-taught expert on Cold War-era military armaments, television newscasters, Japanese animation, and heavy-metal music, George is an obsessive collector of information, both visual and auditory. Constantly holding his well-thumbed stack of computer printouts and wearing earphones for his constantly-playing Sony Walkman cassette recorder, George is a prolific artist whose portraits are honest and vibrant. In 2006 George, along with his fellow artists at Project Onward, participated in the Anti-Cruelty Society's Sixth Annual Animal Images Art Exhibit, where he discovered his new favorite subjects: cats and dogs. His highly stylized portrayals of pets display whimsy and humor, and help to make George one of Project Onward's most successful artists. His work is in a number of public and private collections and he has shown at galleries across the city of Chicago and in New York City...
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