St. Charles Fine Arts Show marks its 10th year
Ed Cook wanted to give his wife something for her dollhouse.
As he looked at it, he noticed it did not have anything on its walls. The amateur artist fixed that.
He painted a picture of a barn overlooking a hill. A cow could be seen grazing on the hillside.
The detail showed clearly, not an easy accomplishment on a three-fourths inch by 1-inch canvas.
"(Miniatures) are the perfect outlet for my sense of detail," Cook said. "I like it because I found my niche."
Cook, 76, will be one of 95 artists from across the country and region to sell their wares at the 10th Annual St. Charles Fine Art Show. The art will range from glass and ceramic art to jewelry and photography, along with acrylics and watercolors. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday along First Avenue from Route 64 to Illinois Avenue.
Cook has painted miniatures since the one he gave his wife of 52 years, Jan, for her dollhouse for Christmas in 1983. He will have 30 of his paintings on hand.
He said he always looks forward to art shows. Cook attended five in 2007 and will attend seven this year.
"A good part of the fun is meeting people, speaking with them, and we have made a lot of friends that way," he said. "The supreme compliment is when somebody likes your work well enough to spend their money to live with it."
Sue McDowell, the Fine Art Show committee chair for all 10 years, said the show has grown from 38 artists in its first year. But she said the committee will not increase that number much.
"Our goal is to stay right around 100 artists," she said. "We feel we can present a quality show. The artists appreciate the size of our show."
McDowell has lived in St. Charles for about 40 years and has worked with the Downtown St. Charles Partnership, which works to benefit the city's downtown businesses, since the early-1990s.
While she said she has no artistic talent, talking to artists about their creations is part of the fun of the show.
"I love art shows and artists and talk to them about how they came up with their inspiration," she said. "It's just a group of great people. It's fun to talk to them about what they do and why they do it."
Nearly half of the artists have attended the St. Charles show in the past, but this will be Cook's first.
He said the inspiration for his painting hits him on the road.
While others might see old, worn-down buildings and barns, he sees something different.
"I see old buildings and I think, this is somebody's dream right here," he said. "Old buildings and old barns got a personality."
He will often take a picture of a building or a scene that strikes him. He then uses acrylic paints to recreate the scene, with minor changes he thinks will improve it.
"Hopefully, somebody will look at this in basically the same way I did when I saw the subject," he said. "The best thing about being an artist is being able to capture something like that and pass it on to somebody else."
Painting is not as easy as it once was. With two replacement knees and an arthritic right middle finger, Cook said it's sometimes hard to concentrate because of the pain he feels.
But that does not stop him.
"In a way, you're making your mark on the world," he said. "Through those paintings, you might say, I'm able to accomplish that."
Downtown St. Charles weekend art events
Main Street
La Galerie, 219 W. Main St.
Artist Vitaly Mikhailov
6-8 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday
Native American Art Gallery, 228 W. Main St.
Temporary exhibit of art by or about American Indians
Noon-6 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, Saturday; now through May 31
Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St.
Tours of the historic Arcada Theatre (no tours Saturday afternoon); Richard Marx performs Saturday at 8 p.m.
3rd Street
Third Street Shops, 12 N. 3rd St.
• Prettiest Star, Mary Curts
• Visions by Victoria, Vikki Tews
• Crystal Life, Atala Dorothy Toy
• Reflections Art, Robert Taylor
• Needle Things, Mary McLaughlin
• Pax Vobiscum Books & Gifts, Florence Ranson
Main Street/Route 31
Bridges Gallery of Fine Art, 305 N. Second St.
Anthony Soskich, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, demonstration at 4 p.m.
Public art, outdoor sculptures
Sculpture in the Park
Mt. St. Mary Park, Route 31 and Prairie Street; 17 sculptures through September 2008
Ekwabet, on the Freedom Trail on the Fox River
By Guy Bellaver, 2 State Ave., by police station, celebrating 20th birthday in May
Bronze sculpture - By the River's Edge
By John Kobald, Mt. St. Mary Park
Bronze sculpture - Colonel Baker on Bench
By Ray Kobald, Hotel Baker, 100 W. Main St.
Bronze sculpture - Dellora Norris
By Ray Kobald, Municipal Center Plaza, 2 E. Main St.
Framework for a Donut
By Howard Russo, Baker Memorial Park
Growth Spirals Colonial Plaza
By Guy Bellaver, 220 Cedar Ave.
Interim X
By Bruce Neimi, Mt. St. Mary Park
Sons of Charlemagne
Main Street Bridge
Chimney Fox
Fox Island Square, 1 W. Illinois St.
Foxcycle, along the Freedom Trail on the Fox River
By Joseph Gagnepain
Outdoor murals and vignettes
Vintage Auto Mural
North and east walls of 3rd Street Shops, by Peggy Sue Seehafer, 12 N. 3rd St.
Walkin' Brick Blues
East wall of Chord on Blues, by Allison Femal, 106 S. 1st Ave.
Artemisia
115 Cedar Avenue
Pub 222 Courtyard
By B.J. Wagner, 222 W. Main St.
The Fox and the Blue Heron
By B.J. Wagner, Smitty's Deli, 15 E. Main St.
The Jalapeño Grille
By Joseph Gagnepain, 620 Geneva Road
Pottawatomie Park, c 1895
By Neil Puccetti, Francesca's, 200 S. 2nd St.
Architectural Detailing
Blue Goose Weathervane, 300 S. 2nd St.
Peacock Window
Over Hotel Baker entrance, 100 W. Main St.
Town House Café & Books - door
By 19th century craftsman, 105 N. 2nd Ave.
Indoor murals and painting
Billy's Roadhouse
210 Cedar St.
El Puente
112 E. Main St.
Harris Bank lobby
1 E. Main St.
Miguel's on the Fox
109 W. Main St.
Municipal Center Lobby
2 E. Main St.
St. Charles Public Library
1 S. 6th Ave.
Other
St. Charles Fine Art Show Children's Coloring Contest at Blue Goose
Blue Goose Market, 300 S. 2nd St.; Winning entries on display all weekend