See the works of local oil painters with Barrington's White House
Join Barrington's White House for a Third Thursday Art Night Out virtual presentation by Oil Painters of America, one of today's leading professional art organizations in North America and headquartered in Barrington.
The free presentation takes place 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. Registration is required at barringtonswhitehouse.com/event/oil-painters-of-america-artists.
The presentation will feature three of OPA's award winning artists from the Chicago area: Mary Qian, Konrad Hack, and Marci Oleszkiewicz.
Mary Qian is a Chinese-born artist who has been painting impressionistic oil portraits for more than a decade. Originally hailing from Shanghai, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Arts and Illustration from Brigham Young University in 1998. A Chicago-based fine art painter, Qian is a winner of many awards, including Oil Painters of America gold Medal.
Painter and illustrator Konrad F. Hack was born in Chicago in 1945. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and University of Chicago in 1968. In 1989, he received his Master of Arts degree with honors at the Governors State University.
Hack served as a combat artist in Vietnam for the Department of Military History in 1969. Returning from the war, he was a staff artist for WGN-TV Chicago from 1970 to 1973. He became active in the Chicago art community as a founding member of the Chicago, United States Air Force Art Program in 1978.
Paintings by the artist were selected for the U.S.A.F. Fine Art Print Series, and he currently serves as chairman of the Midwest Air Force Artists Association.
Marci Oleszkiewicz grew up in Chicago in a family of four. Her mother home-schooled all four children, where each child's gifts were nurtured and encouraged.
Oleszkiewicz's father was a carpenter, and there wasn't a moment where he was not renovating or working on some project for their home. Looking back, Oleszkiewicz attributes much of her creativity to seeing her father always working on something, creating something out of nothing.
"My dad would say, 'see, Marci, if you work at something little by little, you will see your idea come about,'" she said. "Seeing my Dad's work ethic and learning from my mom the value of self discipline as a home-schooler, I believe, gave me some of the foundational tools I would need later in life to succeed as an artist."
This fall, Barrington's White House offers a variety of virtual programs for those looking to explore the arts. More information and tickets for all events can be found at www.barringtonswhitehouse.com/events. Call (224) 512-4066 or go to www.barringtonswhitehouse.com.