Entries Tagged as ''

Art: Quiet by Gabriel Patti

Here’s another artwork that grabbed my notice at the latest Blue Line Studio art show. The artist is Gabriel Patti. The work is called Quiet (36×28, oil and marker on canvas).

Quiet by Gabriel PattiTo me, it is a great atmosphere painting of a city street scene. You can feel the energies, the temperatures, the sounds, and the hustles of the sights changing before you. It immediately brought me to the feeling of being underneath a Chicago elevated train track. There’s the light hitting at all angles and the noise of the train, the streets, the buildings, etc.

Gabriel said that he’s not always an aural painter, but he really tried to capture sound with this one. He even had specific sounds and sound sources in mind for all the elements in the painting.

Art: Travelers by Jesse Morgan

One of my favorite things about the art shows put on by Blue Line Studio is that they regularly introduce me to the newer artists on the Chicago scene. Here’s a piece that I really like from a first-time exhibitor.

Jesse Morgan has been a commercial graphic designer around Chicago for years. Recently, he’s decided to share his personal artworks as well.

This one, Traveler (18 x 24), caught my eye from across the room because it reminded me of a wooden gameboard. Sometime I see those in antique shops for games like parcheesi, cribbage, backgammon, checkers, etc. If I’m lucky, there will be boards for multiple games all drawn on the same surface. If I’m really lucky, there will be boards for games I don’t even recognize.

Travelers by Jesse Morgan

I like the idea that gameboards connect neighbors and communities. For well-aged wooden ones especially, I like the energies that come from them. There have been countless players who have sat around that board, concentrating over contests of strategy and chance.

So that’s what went through my head before I even got to this piece. When I saw the title, I thought of game pieces moving through their journeys. I also saw the geographic and map-like features in the painting. It seems like there are fields and farms as well as town plazas and buildings.

I spoke briefly to the artist, and he said that he was thinking about different dimensions and spaces when composing this piece. I can see that too.

Even though it’s acrylic on canvas, I think it’s remarkable that it doesn’t come across that way at all. The browns and yellows play more like washes. There’s a great overall warmth and history that radiates from the piece. I have the picture open on the screen as I’m writing this. It still draws me in and makes me smile.

Travel: Silver Sage Inn, Moab, Utah

This post is included in the Carnival of Food and Travel #2.

Part of a series: (links to go live as they get posted)

Moab is an expensive town in which to stay. One- and two-star motels run over $100/night. That’s why I feel very fortunate to have found the Silver Sage Inn.

It’s not fancy or large. In fact, it looks like a converted long-term storage facility—a long-term storage facility that was converted in the 1970s.

Silver Sage Inn Room 1But what it is is clean and efficient. I can’t remember the last hotel room I was in where I felt completely comfortable that everything was clean. Nothing is new. That much is obvious, but when I pulled out the in-room coffee maker’s filter cup? Clean!

And one day, when I was walking out, I saw one of the cleaning staff taking a washcloth to a coffee machine in a newly vacated room. So I can first-hand eyeball witness that they do in fact clean very, very well.

All the drawers in the dresser? Clean! No dust, no lint, no nothing.

Silver Sage Inn Room 2Not all rooms have a microwave and a refrigerator so it helps to book well in advance. There is a set in the office though. These appliances help a lot because you’ll need provisions everyday when you visit the national parks.

Also, the Inn does not serve breakfast. And it does not have a swimming pool.

But it does have large storage sheds for your larger outdoor gear. There is also a barbeque grill and a reliable ice machine.

Another huge plus is that it is very, very quiet. When I first arrived, I was concerned that the seemingly flimsy walls were going to be totally sound transparent. After a long day of hiking in the sun, you just don’t want a noisy neighbor keeping you up. But on all four nights of our stay, we did not hear any conversations, alarms, TVs, etc. It was great.

Silver Sage Inn BathroomWe got the internet rate of $69.95/night. That’s good even on weekends. Even though the online booking is only good for a room with two double beds, I called the location directly, and they gave me the queen-sized room with the microwave and the refrigerator for the same price.

I’m very glad we stayed here.