Top Artists Tap Picturesque Central Street

Above: Festgoers peruse paintings at the 5th Annual Evanston Plein Air fair.


Scenes of the Central Street Neighborhood were well represented at the 5th Annual Plein Air art festival put on by EvanstonMade July 11-19. Easily a few hundred Evanstonians and other area art lovers congregated Sun., July 19 at the Rotary Building on Sherman Avenue to view and vote on works by local artists.

"Central Street" (above), an oil painting by Christina Body depicting the colorful and beloved 1900 block of Central at midday, was both the top vote-getter of attendees (and online voters), and awarded Best in Show overall. The painting also sold quickly to a lucky art fancier.

"Plein air" painting means a work created in open air in real time, as opposed to in a studio. Competitions allow artists to locate wherever they choose but to complete the painting within a given time frame, putting a premium on both a sharp eye and the ability to decisively put on canvas the scene that has captured the artist's attention. Artists have to work relatively rapidly, as light and shadows can change significantly in a matter of an hour.

Numerous other local scenes made a showing. Shown below, in order, are (1) "Great Harvest," an oil painting by Amanda Roman, which was for sale for $200; (2) "Central St. -- Station," a water-based oil by Jack Lewitz (sorry about the light reflections on the glass); (3) "Central Street Alley," a lovely oil on panel by Natalie Santoro of an alley near Independence Park, which also took one of the top awards, and at this writing was still available for $690; and (4) an untitled but instantly-recognizable view of the side of the conservatory at the Harley Clarke House, by Cynthia Dybsky, which rapidly sold for $300.

Evanston owes great thanks to organizers and volunteers like EvanstonMade's Lisa Degliantoni who have been working for years to elevate our town's artistic appreciation and cultural profile. The large array of local works for sale, worth viewing in its own right as a gallery, is at the EvanstonMade store page.