Artist brings tiny landscapes to Oak Brook art fair

The Fine Art Festival at Oakbrook Center, a summer tradition for more than five decades, represents an annual pilgrimage for artist Ed Cook.

"We have been doing the Oak Brook show for more than 30 years," said the Batavia resident. "Oak Brook was one of the first art shows that we did."

It's that kind of historical perspective visitors can expect to encounter when Cook joins about 100 juried artists in exhibiting their work at the show Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20 and 21, at the outdoor shopping center.

Cook has been a full-time artist since he left the corporate world in the mid-1980s.

"I paint acrylic miniatures," he said. "I've always had a penchant for the small and precise."

Many of his paintings measure only 2¾ inches-by-4¾ inches. Cook, 84, said he accomplishes this through carefully layering paint and using specialized implements.

"My brushes are very expensive brushes. One of them costs $285," he said. "They come to a single hair point."

And it helps that he has 20/20 vision and a steady hand.

"I have the eye and hand control to get very fine lines out of those brushes," he said. "I love nature, so I do a lot of landscapes. I like to capture old barns and buildings before they fall down because I'd love to know the stories they could tell."

Occasionally, Cook paints portraits, like the one he painted of his wife, Janice, when they were courting more than 60 years ago. More recently, he painted a portrait of a woman offering fruit for sale in Oro Preto, Brazil, a scene he witnessed while vacationing. He calls it "Patience."

"I couldn't resist painting her as she sat waiting for customers," he said.

A member of both the Fox Valley Arts and the Senior Illinoisans halls of fame, as well as a frequent award winner, Cook said his pieces command prices that often exceed $2,000.

"It really isn't a casual purchase," he said. "People buy them for the investment. Sometimes it's because they like them. 'I want to live with what you did.' That's the biggest compliment."

Cook said he plans to bring a wide selection of paintings to the Oak Brook show, admitting that it is sometimes difficult to part with his personal favorites.

"But, actually, I do paint them to sell them," he said.

While he continues to paint miniatures, he said he has begun to dabble in abstracts.

"Once in a while I get away from the tightness and precision and I relax and have fun," he said.

He is currently preparing to teach art classes beginning in September at the Liberty Liberal Arts Academy in Elgin.

Other artists at the Oak Brook show specialize in oil painting, photography, leather-working and other media, organizers said.

The weekend's festivities include a youth art tent where free crafts, including coloring pages and modeling clay, will be available.

If you go

What: 54th annual Fine Art Festival at Oakbrook Center

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21

Where: Oakbrook Center, Route 83 and 22nd Street, Oak Brook

Cost: Free

Info: (847) 926-4300, amdurproductions.com and edcookminiatures.com