Chicago Rain, A Young Man Faces Down The City

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In Chicago Rain, I’m looking back at the years of my youth and strength. I grew up in Aurora, but spent two decades in the urban bliss of the Windy City. I married there, and all three of my children were born at the Swedish Covenant Hospital on the Northwest side.

10″ x 12″ acrylic with blades
on a solid wooden block
#17-019

$450

Actually, Aurora is considered a part of “Chicagoland,” as it is only forty miles west. A city itself, but small compared to Chicago with about 100,000 population, hardly a village. We actually had a twenty-story skyscraper in town. But the allurement of the big city is magical. Let me tell you about my first trip to the big city, many years before Chicago Rain. I was in 8th grade and along with two of my pals, decided to skip school and go to Chicago. None of us were old enough to drive, but Aurora has a commuter train that goes straight into Union Station. Back then the tickets were probably less than ten bucks, so we saved up for our big hooky day trip!

Chicago Rain

I thought I was street wise, but it turned out I was not. At 14, the world belonged to me; Chicago was just the first stop. We got off the train in Union Station and somehow got out on the streets through the throngs of humanity. No problem, easy peasy. I was tough, Chicago streets did NOT scare me. (They should have.) We roamed around aimlessly acting as if 100-story skyscrapers were normal things, but our necks were bent a lot that day.

Then we ventured into the subway system. We acted cool, yet had no idea how to read the complicated maps on the station walls and in the trains. While transferring from the NW routes to the Southside routes, I got separated from my friends. They were ahead about twenty or thirty bodies in the sardine can of the subway car. When they got off, I had to rush to an exit or be forever on my own.

Running as fast as I could, I spotted them ahead going up a huge escalator. Some pals they were – they didn’t even notice I WAS MISSING! I jumped on the escalator and found myself squished in the midst of a large group of teenage boys. (Hmm, I thought, why weren’t they in school?) Must be trouble-makers for sure. Or wait, worse . . . gang members? Yikes, they didn’t smile at me, but glared.

That’s the last thing I remembered until my friends were splashing water in my face to wake me up on the floor at the top of the escalator. And for some reason all of my pockets were empty. Too bad those punks couldn’t find a rich kid to rob. All they got from me was a couple of bucks and my comb (don’t need one of those anymore.) Then the swelling in my face and head started. They sucker-punched me!

Chicago Rain is a painting about years later when I moved to the city. I was much more cautious and wise, and instead of a gang, I found the love of my life (click on the about link below to see her).

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789

Lake Eola

Eerie Lake Eola Haunts Orlando Skyline

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Eerie Lake Eola is a creation of contrasting feelings based on a real lake in Orlando, Florida. It is a city of lakes, but right in the middle is a small one called Lake Eola. It’s a place of dreams come true. Not far from Disney World, Universal, Sea World, and a plethora of entertainment venues, Lake Eola is renowned as an urban focal point. Many great events are held there to the delight of the locals and vacationers alike. It’s a very special place, especially since it is in the middle of a major city.

Where is Eerie Lake Eola?

One visitor wrote,

Lake Eola Park is an oasis located in the heart of Downtown Orlando. Amazing variety of birds, great place to dog and people watch. Restaurants and bars located within view of the Park. Great place to hang out.

Lake Eola

16″ by 20″ acrylic on canvas
on panel board in a black wooden frame
#16-003

$1,250   $950

Why is Lake Eola My Subject?

But in my conception the lake is viewed at night, and from a darker  insight. It may come from my first visit to Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. As a ten-year old kid I was excited to go on a big trip to a lake, but my fun was ruined because I was abandoned in a boat for hours. It wasn’t a traumatic experience, however, it was a disappointment. I even had a fishing pole, although fishing by oneself is lonely.

That may have altered my idea of lakes, but there are also the skyscrapers. In my painting these structures emote an urban lostness and sense of despair. The huge darkened monoliths with illuminated windows convey humanity in the background. A lake is a place of life, yet here it is bordered by a sort of life that offers no hope. Eerie. The scene conveys a gray and clouded sky joined with streaks above and below resulting in a strange mood. Humanity may not be lively in this picture, but there is life.

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789

The Red Vineyard is the Only Painting Van Gogh Sold

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Why Did I Paint The Red Vineyard?

The Red Vineyard was a fun project. When I do an “after” piece using a master’s inspiration, I never consider copying the work. But usually I utilize the basic layout and make changes to make it mine, usually drastic alterations. In this case I got flipped around by starting with the big beautiful orb of the sun. I like the way mine turned out, then I realized it was on the wrong side! OOPS. Then it increased the challenge as I had to mentally flip everything else. Oh well, I’ve always been a sort of backwards guy anyhow. Also I made the colors different and the people smaller.

Understanding The Red Vineyard

The allurement of hard work is a mystery. There are some people who avoid it at all costs, especially physical work like the fields. Van Gogh is known for his feature paintings of peasants around a table having a meal. They are the potato eaters and they are content, and probably didn’t realize how poor they were. They had food, work to do every day, and each other. After a hard day in the fields, they would gather together for food and relaxation. The aches and pains of the day would wear off and they would sleep well.

The Appeal

On the next day they were ready to get back in the fields. The Red Vineyard was calling to them; it’s harvest time! They loved the earthy smells in the morning, the dew on the plants, and the crisp and cool beginning of another productive day. Nobody told them they were poor.

36″ x 48″ acrylic on canvas
on a MightyWood stretcher
# 17-039

$2,400   $2,400
On display at KellGrace Salon

The workers in the field must hurry before the sun sets.

According to some accounts, this was the only painting Vincent van Gogh ever sold. Van Gogh did the original in 1888. It is on display at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

Red Vineyard

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789

Starry Cypresses Team Up From Van Gogh Inspiration

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While meditating on nature and Van Gogh’s propensity to portray it, I thought his solitary Cypress tree in “Starry Night” needed a companion. The result was “Starry Cypresses,” and the after painting looks quite different.

36″ x 45″ acrylic on canvas
on a MightyWood stretcher
# 17-005

$2,800   $2,200

A Companion is Added, and I Call it Starry Cypresses

This is obviously an “after” painting. I love doing Van Gogh pieces. The swirling sky alone makes it an adventure to paint. Mountains and hills are my life-long passion; I will always tend to create them. With Starry Cypresses, I took the liberty to add sweeping mountain slopes, an extra cypress, and more intense swirls in the sky. And instead of a night scene, I changed it to more of a dusk or dawn scene. In my mind the sun has just set behind the mountains and the villagers are settling in for the night. Dusk is a precious time; it is the last chance of a given day to go out and embrace the beauty of nature just before the darkness swallows it up.

The feel and depth generated gives the painting an interesting feel. Standing in front of it draws you in and places you in one of the humble cottages nestled in the hills. This is unfortunate for me, because I live in a flat terrain. There are forests with pine and oak, and there are swamps, but in my area there are no hills.

Van Gogh’s Original is a Great Masterpiece

Here is the original by Vincent van Gogh called  “Starry Night.” It is one of his most famous paintings from 1889. The view of the scene has been identified as being from his bedroom window, looking east.

Through the iron-barred window,” he wrote to his brother, Theo, around 23 May 1889, “I can see an enclosed square of wheat . . . above which, in the morning, I watch the sun rise in all its glory.

So I did it again, Van Gogh was facing east, my painting faces west.

Starry Cypresses is based on Starry Night

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789

starless cypresses

Starless Cypresses Where Darkness Reigns Supreme

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I’m not sure if this one is “after” Van Gogh or not. There certainly is inspiration in the sky, but I went a different direction with Starless Cypresses . . . no stars . . . many cypresses . . . and a village swallowed by an eerie mountain slope. Darkness tends to highlight the natural environment in a special way. Of course, I don’t mean total darkness because then nothing would be highlighted. But even on a moonless cloudy night there is minor light from stars or bouncing off the cloud cover, especially if civilization is nearby.

Vincent’s Original Sketch
Starless Cypresses – A Cosmic Disturbance

My swirling clouds in the sky have their own special blueness, therefore illuminating the scene. It’s alien, mystical, and ethereal, but I don’t think it can be called unnatural because nature has a great number of weird effects. Maybe the clouds came through fronting a storm, or perhaps they are the storm, or even a tornado. It could be a cosmic event because it transcends normal atmospheric activity.

Dark, Starless Cypresses Embrace the Frail Mountain Village

So let’s consider those poor souls in the tiny cottages clustered together in the mountain valley. Why would people live there, it doesn’t seem safe. They could live in a town or city. Are those safe? Where is the greatest threat? Is it nature, or is it humans?

A Wall

The starless cypresses form a wall of security and safety for the people. They stand tall in the dark mountains as if to defy them. They are unaffected by the harsh conditions, they are not afraid of heights, and the darkness only makes them bolder. Peering through their windows, the people see sentinels and guardians. They sleep peacefully.

34″ x 42″ acrylic on canvas
mounted in a frame with a white mat,
no glass, the texture is exposed
# 17-011

$1250   $950

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789

Lonely Tree

The Lonely Tree Awaits Fellowship in the Mountains

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The Lonely Tree is A Noble Subject

Surviving the harshest elements on earth, the mountains stand firm, because the lonely tree stands with them. Mountains are one of the most magnificent parts of creation, hence, they were made to be painted. As far back as my memory goes, I’ve loved drawing and painting them, and I think I can paint the Lonely Tree with my eyes closed. Getting the shape of the hills right has almost become a muscle-memory reflex for me. The same for shading and texturing the individual slopes.

Mountains and hills are often harsh natural environments, while cities and towns are controlled. There is hard rock, steep slopes, and above all, snow in these scenes.  The snow, of course, conjures coldness, whereas the tree signifies life and strength. Similarly, this contrast infuses the painting with inspiration.

16″ x 20″ acrylic & gesso on canvas
on a MightyWood Stretcher
# 16-038
On display at KellGrace Salon, 110 S. Park Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789

$600   $500 

My companions are of stone and not wood, yet they are my friends

Also, the scene conveys a sense of fellowship or companionship while the solitary tree awaits others. It’s possible, and likely in nature, that seeds have fallen nearby that hence will yield more trees. But who can say the tree doesn’t find companionship and fellowship with the hills? I’d like to think they do, and my painting shows it!

However, solitude is a relative condition. Those who isolate themselves from only those of identical attributes will inevitably be alone. And if there was a way for them to be with only clones of themselves – they would be at war forever!

ABOUT the artist, Ed Lowe . . .
Email: ed@edplanet.com
Text: 407.267.6977
KellGrace Salon / 110 S. Park Ave / Winter Park, FL 32789